


day eight - prompt #063

by MarkJinFicFest



Series: Forever and A Day - MarkJinFicFest [16]
Category: GOT7
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-01 06:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12151092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarkJinFicFest/pseuds/MarkJinFicFest
Summary: Prompt no: #063Prompt: Jinyoung tries to win back his boyfriend, Mark, who suffers from an amnesia.Title: ResetAuthor: @markjintrash on TwitterSide pair: mentions of 2jaeRating: PG-17 (mentions of suicide)Word count: 23k





	day eight - prompt #063

Sunlight passes through the glass windows as soon as Jinyoung pulls the curtains, filtering everything inside the four walls of their shared room. It's barely seven in the morning, yet the sun is already shining brightly outside. It has always been like that every summer, though. Jinyoung turns to look at the bed where his boyfriend is, still sleeping and seemingly unbothered by the sunlight directly hitting his face. He stares at the sight for a moment, silently admiring the beauty that is right in front of him. He felt his heart beating a little bit faster than usual as his mouth slightly falls open. Even after six years of being together, and living together, with Mark Tuan, Jinyoung still thinks that he will never get used to this, that he can never get used to _this_.

It's a Wednesday, and today marks their sixth anniversary. Jinyoung wants nothing but to make it simple but special, this time, since Mark always had different plans the past years. Like, he'd always made sure to buy Jinyoung expensive gifts, and take him to eat dinner in an expensive restaurant, and then surprise him after they're done eating. It's not like Jinyoung is against Mark doing that every year -- he absolutely loves every effort Mark exerts in their relationship -- it's just that he thinks Mark could've had saved the money to buy something that he wants for himself, instead of spending it just for a day that will soon enough pass by.

( _"It's not just any simple day,"_ Mark had said on their first anniversary when Jinyoung didn't want to accept his gift. It was a silver bracelet that Jinyoung had an eye on whenever they pass by the jewelry shop when entering the mall every time they went shopping. _"It's our anniversary, Jinyoung. It should be special. And, didn't you like this?"_

 _"Are you kidding? Of course I love it."_ Jinyoung said. _"It's just that... you don't have to buy me this. Having you, being with you, it's already more than enough."_

Mark didn't say anything after that. Instead, he just wrapped his arms around Jinyoung's waist and held him tight. Jinyoung did the same, and then he planted a soft kiss on Mark's cheek before leaning closer to his ear. _"I love you."_ He whispered, and seeing Mark's smile after that made him think that _yes, it's already more than enough_.)

Jinyoung walks towards the bed when Mark showed no signs of waking up. Shaking his head, he sits on the bed beside the sleeping man and smiles at him fondly.

"Mark, wake up," he says as he pokes Mark's cheek multiple times. But he got no response from the elder. He lowkey thinks that Mark is just faking it, but knowing that Mark had worked overtime, and went home at ten thirty last night, he must still be dead tired until now.

But Jinyoung didn't want to waste time. After all, Mark had requested a day-off for today in exchange to working overtime last night.

Leaning down, he plants a soft kiss on Mark's cheek, and brushes off some stray hair strands that are covering his eyes. "Happy anniversary, babe. Please wake up," he whispers as he plants another kiss on Mark's other cheek, and another one on his forehead, and another one on his nose. Jinyoung continues with what he was doing and is now showering Mark's face with soft kisses.

He hears a groan, and Jinyoung takes that as a cue that Mark is finally waking up -- but, the elder's still not opening his eyes.

Jinyoung stares at him, again, for a moment. And when his eyes landed on Mark's lips, Jinyoung almost immediately leans down and kisses him. Closing his eyes, he tilts his head slightly to the side so that their noses aren't bumping to each other. He then moves a hand toward Mark's hair to play with his soft locks. He stays like that for a moment, and just a few seconds later, he feels a hand on his cheek, and another one on his nape.

He then feels Mark smiling into the kiss, and Jinyoung can't help it but do the same. They continue kissing, long and sweet, until they eventually feel the need to breathe, and pull away. Jinyoung bites Mark's lower lip, and pecks his lips one last time before looking at him. The elder is now, finally, peeling his eyes open, and blinking in such a cute manner that has Jinyoung wanting to kiss him again.

Mark rubs his eyes, and blinks for a few more times before finally looking at Jinyoung. "Good morning, my Prince." He groggily says, smiling widely. He still looks tired, and his eyebags are more visible, but he's still just as beautiful as ever.

Jinyoung didn't say anything for a while. Neither of them did. They're just looking into each other's eyes lovingly, with wide smiles plastered on their faces.

"Good morning, babe," Jinyoung says a few moments later, breaking the comfortable silence of the room. "Your breath stinks."

Mark rolls his eyes, still smiling. "But you kissed me?" He says, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry, I can't help it when you looked so beautiful while sleeping."

"Sappy."

"You love it."

"Oh come here you-" Mark pulls Jinyoung on top of him, and wraps his arms around his waist. He then nuzzles his nose on Jinyoung's neck, eliciting a series of chuckles from the younger.

Jinyoung tries to break away, but Mark's holding him tightly. "S-stop it, babe. W-we need to take a shower, and eat breakfast." He says in between his chuckles.

Mark stops, and pouts. "But I still want to cuddle." He turns his head to the side.

"We can cuddle all we want later," Jinyoung shakes his head. Despite the fact that Mark is already twenty-six, Jinyoung still thinks that he's cute -- especially when he's sulking, or just _pretending_ to sulk. "Come on, let's take a shower together." Jinyoung says, taking Mark's hands from his waist, as he sits up.

"No." Mark frowns, pulling his hands from Jinyoung, and crossing his arms on his chest.

"Oh?" Jinyoung raises an eyebrow in amusement. They've been in this situation several times before, and he knows exactly how to make the elder listen to him. Straddling on the elder's lower half, Jinyoung moves to sit down on his crotch -- the elder's slightly hard shaft positioned directly between his ass cheeks -- and he leans down to whisper onto Mark's ear. "I know you have a morning wood, babe. Get up now so I can give you head in the shower. How is that?" Jinyoung offers, his voice low. He lifts his head to look at the elder as he waits for his response.

Mark didn't say anything. Instead, he just bites his lower lip, looks at Jinyoung, and nods slowly. Jinyoung smiles in victory as he hops off the bed. His _offer_ works every time.

 

After they're done showering (and also having a quickie), they both change to their casual clothes. They head to the dining room to eat the to-go food Jinyoung had ordered earlier this morning. The clock reads nine o'clock, and Jinyoung's now washing the dishes, while Mark's sitting on the kitchen counter, scrolling through his phone. He smiles as he reads the messages and greetings on his Messenger.

 _'Happy anniversary, Mark and Jinyoung!'_ Mark reads out loud. Jinyoung turns to look at him, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Taehyung," Mark says, quickly taking a glance at his boyfriend before looking back to his phone.

"You still have contact to each other?" Jinyoung asks, returning his attention to his work. "What do you guys talk about?"

"Yes, we still have contact to each other, and no, we don't always talk." Mark sighs, and puts his phone down. "Jinyoung, we're all friends with him now, right? What happened in the past will remain in the past. You've said it yourself. It's been years." He hops off the counter and walks toward Jinyoung, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist, and planting a kiss on his nape.

Jinyoung smiles -- but he knows Mark can't see it, so he keeps up his fake sulking to annoy the elder. "Are you two perhaps having a fling behind my back?"

With that, Mark frowns and hits him lightly on his chest. "Idiot," He says before walking back to the kitchen counter.

Jinyoung bursts out laughing at that. He dried his hands on the apron he's wearing before walking towards his boyfriend. "I just wanna annoy you." He chuckles, standing between Mark's legs and wrapping his arms on the elder's waist.

"I know," Mark smiles and wraps his arms around the younger as well, moving a hand up to play with his hair. "But you're still an idiot."

"You love me."

"Your idiocy wasn't the thing that made me fall in love with you, but yeah sure."

Jinyoung rolls his eyes and glances over at the open dining room door. He quickly pecks Mark's lips before pulling away. "Wait here." He says, but before Mark could even say a word, Jinyoung's already running out of the room.

He returns five minutes later, with an envelope on his hand. Mark takes a quick look at it before lifting an eyebrow at the younger. "Here..." Jinyoung says, flushing a bit as thrusts the envelope into Mark's hand. Mark takes it, lifting his other eyebrow. "My gift." Jinyoung lies. This wasn't really his gift. And he doesn't want to disappoint Mark, or get his hopes down, either for giving him _this_ when the elder probably will give him something that costs more than his monthly salary. It's just that he wants to surprise Mark later when he gives his _real_ gift is all.

 _'To Mark Tuan'_ , Mark reads out loud before slitting the envelope open and pulling out the card. Those were the only words Jinyoung has written on the envelope, so Mark becomes curious on what _dramatic shit_ he'll read on the card, or if maybe the younger's just playing a prank on him. He noticed some photos inside the envelope when he pulled the card out, but he decides he'll look at them later after he's finished reading Jinyoung's _probably_ sappy anniversary love letter.

 _'Dear Mark,'_ He reads on the card. Everything's handwritten, he notices when he makes a quick scan, and it's obviously written by Jinyoung himself. _'When I found a nineteen year old red-haired boy standing by the edge on the rooftop of the university's tallest building, seven years ago, I never thought that he'd become such a huge part in my life, and that we'd eventually fall in love with each other. But I just want you to know that this very day, six years ago, was probably the happiest and most special day of my life. Sure, I may have been in several relationships before you came, but every ex-lover I had in comparison to you would be a failure. I have never met someone as sweet, as caring, as loving as you, and because of that, every moment we spent up to this day was all precious. I'm sorry if I'm stupid sometimes, though, and annoy you to the point that you'd get mad for real and won't talk to me for days. You know that's one of the many ways of me showing you my love, right? I love you so much, Mark Tuan, a.k.a the most beautiful man I have ever seen. I love you to the moon, sun, stars, galaxy, universe, and back. Thank you for the best six years babe. Love, your Prince Jinyoungie.'_

Mark looks up to Jinyoung after reading, blinking away the tears that are threatening to fall. He smiles, but his lips are quivering. He moves a hand up to his chest as he feels his heart beating faster than normal. "Ji-Jinyoung... thank you so much for this..." He really doesn't know what else to say. Jinyoung has given him cards before, but they were all just simply sappy and never like this.

"I mean every word I wrote... I hope you like it?" Jinyoung smiles widely -- all teeth, no eyes -- with crinkles forming on either side of his eyes. It was that very smile that had Mark's heart suddenly skipping a beat, years ago, and it was the start of him being unsure with his feelings towards the younger. That very smile that had also made Mark realized that he was, indeed, slowly falling in love with him.

"I love it." Mark says after a few moments of silence. He reaches out to secure Jinyoung in a tight yet gentle hug, burying his face on the younger's soft hair. Jinyoung does the same. He wraps his arms around the elder's waist once more, face buried on his chest. They stay like that for some time. Neither of them moves. Neither of them wanted to move. They both just want to feel each other's warmth.

It's Mark who breaks the comfortable silence, minutes later. "Jinyoung?" He mumbles onto Jinyoung's hair. His hand continues to stroke the soft strands. Jinyoung just hums in response, letting Mark know that he is listening. "I love you so much."

Jinyoung smiles onto Mark's chest when he hears it. The elder doesn't really speak those words that much. He prefers to say it through writing, or chat, or through his gifts, but mostly through his actions. But it's always sweet and perfect to hear every time Mark's says it through his mouth, so Jinyoung always revel in the blissful moments whenever the elder tells him.

"I love you too."

 

But that was three days ago.

When Jinyoung wakes up being terribly sick, to the point the he couldn't even get up, the morning of Saturday, he didn't know what lies ahead on that day that will change his life to a one-eighty degrees. Jinyoung hates himself. They were supposed to go on a vacation this weekend because that was what he has planned. Because that was his _real_ gift to Mark; two vacation tickets for two days and one night. And also a promise to Mark that he will try snowboarding, this time, even though he's not really the sporty and adventurous type unlike his boyfriend. Mark looked so happy that night, and seeing his smile made Jinyoung's chest feel warm. He had always felt bad whenever he declines Mark's offers to go snowboarding the past years -- the elder had to either go alone, or invite Yugyeom, one of Jinyoung's workers in his milktea shop and also a close friend to Mark -- so this time, he wanted to be with him. But the future will always be unpredictable, and here he is, sleeping on their shared bed under layers of bed sheets at twelve noon, whilst Mark is probably still driving alone on the way to their supposed-to-be vacation spot by now (it usually takes about three hours to get there).

 ( _"I'm so sorry, Mark."_ Jinyoung sniffed, grabbing the face towel beside him to sneeze on it. _"I... I really wanted to go..."_

 _"Shh, it's okay,"_ Mark said softly as he handed Jinyoung a glass of water and some medicine. _"Take a rest, baby. I can go alone. I'll be back as soon as possible so I can take care of you."_ He wanted to stay, to take care of his boyfriend. But he also really didn't want to waste what Jinyoung has given to him when the younger has probably thought about it for long.

 _"Alone? What about Yugyeom?"_ Jinyoung asked; his voice worried. He lied down on the bed, and Mark pulled the bed sheets over him. _"You can give him the other ticket..."_ He coughed.

_"He said he's busy. Don't worry about me, you should rest."_

Jinyoung only nodded in response.

It was almost twelve when Mark left their apartment. He made sure to cook some food for Jinyoung if ever he gets hungry, and also left some medicine on the table with a note: _Don't forget to eat and drink your medicine, your highness!_

Mark gave Jinyoung a goodbye kiss, saying _"This can help cure your sickness, my prince."_ before he finally left the apartment.)

Jinyoung wakes up an hour later, slowly walking towards the kitchen with one of the sheets still wrapped around him. He smiles when he reads the note Mark has left earlier. He heats the food Mark has cooked before eating them, and drinks all the bitter-tasting medicines after. His senses feel numb. He still hates himself for getting sick, so he wants nothing but to get better as soon as possible. Jinyoung walks back towards their bedroom, noticing how quiet and empty the apartment feels like without his other half. Slipping back under the sheets on the bed, Jinyoung stares at the blue ceiling of their room, counting the cracks until he eventually falls asleep once again.

 

The next time Jinyoung wakes up, it's to the sound of loud knocks on the door. He groans and scrunches his face before peeling his eyes open. He sits up slowly and rests his back against the headboard of the bed. His headache is almost gone, but his body still feels heavy. He grabs his phone from the table beside the bed to check the time. Six twenty, the digital clock reads, but he fails to see the missed calls on his phone.

It's dark when he gets out of the room, and there are no signs of Mark. _Maybe he's still enjoying himself,_ he thinks as he walks toward the kitchen. But before he can even enter, the loud knocks resumed and he almost forgot that those were the reasons why he woke up in the first place.

"Jinyoung!" Someone hollers, making him jump as he walks towards the door. "Open the door!" It wasn't Mark, and they sound urgent.

When he finally opens the door, he was greeted by a sweaty and out of breath Jaebum. "What takes you here?" Jinyoung asks, lifting his eyebrows as he looks at the other.

Jaebum waits for a few seconds to collect his own self before finally answering; his expression turns gloomy when he looks at the younger. "Jinyoung... Mark is... h-he's in..." He stutters, voice faltering.

A spark of worry sets fire into Jinyoung's mind when he looks at how Jaebum's expression changed, and his heartbeat suddenly increases in speed. "W-what about him?" He slowly starts panicking internally, but he's praying to the heavens above that he's just being silly, and just thinking about the worst things unnecessarily. What could possibly happen to Mark? He thought.

But his thoughts completely shatter, and his blood runs cold when Jaebum finally speaks.

"Mark got involved in a car accident. He's in the emergency room of the hospital right now."

Jinyoung feels his world crumble to a million pieces.

 

》》》

 

The hospital room is cold, but the tears that are flowing down Jinyoung's cheeks are warm. The four walls surrounding them are white, similar to their shared bedroom in their apartment. But compared to the walls of their bedroom which are empty yet comfortable and calming, the walls here are empty and intimidating. Mark lies down motionless on the bed. His pale skin almost blends to the white sheets and white walls of the room.

Ten forty-five; the clock reads. It's been four hours since Jinyoung arrived. Visiting hours will be over soon, but, through teary eyes, Jinyoung begged the nurses to let him stay for a little longer just a while ago. They didn't let him at first, but Mark's doctor, who happens to be Jaebum's father, has taken pity on him and gave him permission. Dr. Im then asked the nurses to go out and look for any extra blankets and pillows for Jinyoung, since he's staying the night. Jinyoung was more than grateful at that.

( _"T_ _he witness said he made a u-turn, and unfortunately didn't notice the truck on the other side. The impact on his head isn't severe, but we'll still continue to monitor it."_ The doctor, Jaebum's father, had said when Jinyoung was calm enough to listen. _"He was practically bathing in blood when he arrived here, but don't worry, blood loss is minimal as the witness who saw everything brought him here immediately."_ )

There are bandages around Mark's head, and the doctor said that there are several stitches underneath. Jinyoung can even see a slight red and orange staining Mark's brown locks, and he doesn't want to think just how much blood could've caused that despite the doctor telling him that blood loss was minimal. Looking at Mark shoots panic to every single nerve in Jinyoung's body. His eyes are red; nearly bloodshot from the hours he has spent crying by his boyfriend's side.

 _I should've had let you stay, to take care of me..._ Jinyoung hates himself even more. _I should've had taken care of myself more so I wouldn't get sick. Heck, I should've gone with you even though I'm sick. You must've been so worried about me that you couldn't concentrate on driving... I wish I can do something to make you wake up..._

Mark's hand is cold against his when Jinyoung takes it, and he feels himself crying, again, for the nth time that night. "Mark, baby, I'm so sorry." Jinyoung sniffles, voice quivering. "Please, wake up. I love you. I love you so much. I'm so, so, sorry." Closing his eyes, he gently moves the elder's hand up closer to his mouth and starts pressing a kiss on each tip of his fingers. When he opens his eyes, they immediately go to look at the heart monitor on the other side of the bed. Mark's heartbeat is stable; telling him that his other half is still alive, and fighting. It's the only thing that makes Jinyoung a bit calm.

Jinyoung misses Mark's beautiful smile, and how his eyes shine brightly when he does. He misses his high-pitched laugh, his hugs, his kisses. But most of all, he misses all of Mark's ways of saying 'I love you' to him. But here he is, lying motionless on the bed and his chest barely even lifts when he breathes. Jinyoung's heart clenches. He's _dying_ to see Mark opening his eyes. He wants to see the elder show more signs of life aside from just the constant beeping in the room. It slowly drives Jinyoung mad.

By the time the clock strikes two, Jinyoung is asleep, and has cried his eyes dry. The nurses emerge back into the room and wake him up, telling him to stay outside while they do the necessary checkups on Mark. Jinyoung doesn't want to leave, but he knows he has to.

To his surprise, he found Jaebum sleeping on the cold metallic bench when he steps outside the room. Jinyoung wonders how a grown man in his mid-twenties fit in there, but the sight made him smile. Jaebum has always been there to make him smile, even just for a bit, on his dark times. Jinyoung's more than grateful to have him as a bestfriend.

There's still a little space just above the other's head, so Jinyoung walks towards there to take a seat. He then moves a hand down to stroke on Jaebum's soft locks as he leans his head against the wall.

Jaebum wakes up a few minutes later, eyes widening when he sees Jinyoung. He sits up and rubs the sleepiness from his eyes, before stretching his arms. "Hey." He says, followed by a yawn.

Jinyoung chuckles. "Hi."

"Had some sleep? Are you feeling better now?"

"Two hours." he replies. "And yes, I'm feeling better now... I guess?"

"Here," Jaebum thrust some medicines to Jinyoung's hand. "My dad noticed that you're sick so he asked me to give you these when you get out of the room."

Jinyoung looks at his hand, before looking back at Jaebum. "Thank you, Jae. Really. I'm so lucky to have you."

"We've been bestfriends since we were practically in diapers, Jinyoung. You're stuck with me." Jaebum grins. Jinyoung would roll his eyes, and cover Jaebum's face with his hand to hide his shit-eating grin if this was any other time, but right now he couldn't bring himself to do so. Instead, he just leans forward and rests his head on the other's shoulder, smiling.

They stay like that for some time. It made Jinyoung calm, and he's really grateful to have a bestfriend like Jaebum (even though he's annoying sometimes). The only thing that can make everything better, though, is Mark waking up from his slumber.

But Mark doesn't wake up on that night.

Jinyoung stays by his side until he falls asleep, uncomfortably, next to him with their fingers intertwined. In his sleep, he prays for a miracle to happen. And he wishes for luck to be on his side once more.

 

《《《

 

To say that luck is always on Jinyoung's side could be an understatement.

Gruaduating with highest honor in university, getting his teacher's license and getting employed as a part-time teacher in a prestigious school in Seoul; Jinyoung can say that he was born lucky. Not to mention, he'd also successfully opened and managed his own milktea shop with the help of his friends, and of course, Mark.

Meeting Mark Tuan; it had been by pure serendipity -- because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But every time he looks back at it, he thinks that it might've been the right place at the right time. Because he fell so deeply in love soon enough and that was by complete chance, as well.

He can still recall every single detail of their encounter.

Jinyoung was eighteen when he found a red-haired boy standing by the edge on the rooftop of the university's tallest building, which is the Engineering and Architecture building. It was the last day of the second semester, which was also the last day of his sophomore year in college -- as well as the start of the long summer vacation.

Jaebum, who was also a sophomore that time, had told him during lunch time earlier that day to meet at the rooftop, but Jinyoung forgot which building was it, so he just assumed that it's the Engineering and Architecture building since Jaebum was taking up an Engineering course. He'd later known that Jaebum was actually talking about the Arts building.

It's five-thirty in the afternoon when he arrived; thirty minutes earlier than their call time. It was surprisingly quiet, and when Jinyoung finally stepped out of the door, none of his friends were there. Instead, there was a red-haired boy, he assumed to be on his age, standing by the edge while looking at the darkening sky.

He walked closer to the boy. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Excuse me? Has anyone else been here aside from you?"

Silence.

 _Wow, nice talking. Are you perhaps deaf or mute?_ Jinyoung frowned. "Well, if you're not going to answer then I'll ju-" He was cut off when he heard a sob. His eyes widened when the boy suddenly moved his foot forward, as if he was going to jump. Horror was Jinyoung's first reaction, as panic shot the nerves in his body. He was just about to witness a red-haired teenage boy commit suicide right in front of him, and he most likely did not want to see that ever in his life, so he did what was the first thing that came into his mind.

Without second thoughts, Jinyoung practically sprinted towards the boy and pulled him back to safety. He had his eyes closed as he braced for impact when the both of them stumbled to the ground. His head hurt, as well as his back. They might bruise the next day, he thought.

When Jinyoung opened his eyes and sat up, the boy was staring at him with wide eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Now that he'd seen the boy's face, Jinyoung thought that he was kind of _cute_. But Jinyoung's initial reactions were anger and symphathy. He wanted to get mad at the boy, and tell him that that wasn't the only way if he had problems. That everything will get better soon. But he also understood that some people feel so hopeless, useless, unneeded, and that sometimes they wanted to just disappear from this cruel world.

Jinyoung took a breath, long and deep. "Are you okay...?" He wasn't sure if he asked the right question. But the boy's expression seemed calmer when he looked -- but more like _stared_ \-- at Jinyoung.

The boy was still wearing his uniform. From where Jinyoung was seated, he could see the name plate attached to the uniform, glinting slightly under the minimal light. _Mark Tuan_ , Jinyoung read, but he decided to not refer to him by his name until they’ve properly introduced themselves to one another.

"Are you gonna scold me?" The boy, Mark Tuan, finally spoke, but he didn't answer Jinyoung's question. He had his arms crossed on his chest as he looked to the ground. His voice was deep, and it sent a wave of shivers down Jinyoung's spine.

"Am I allowed to do that?" Jinyoung asked, lifting an eyebrow. "You have your own reasons. But I obviously didn't want to witness someone jump off a ten-story building, and see their brain explode out of their head." He scrunched his face in disgust at the thought. "Jesus, I'd be scarred for life."

That elicited a soft chuckle from Mark. It made Jinyoung smile, and his chest suddenly felt warm. Mark looked a lot cuter now that he was smiling, Jinyoung thought.

"Does that... really happen?" Mark's voice came again, and Jinyoung lifted an eyebrow in question.

"What? Someone's brain exploding if they jump off a tall building?" He asked. Mark nodded. "Well... yeah, I guess? At least that's what I've heard from others..." Jinyoung's voice trailed off, and Mark chuckled again.

He already liked the sound of it -- he thought it was kind of addicting -- and a smile made its way again to Jinyoung's face.

Silence followed, as the two of them emerged themselves in watching the sunset. But it wasn't the awkward or boring kind of silence. It was oddly comforting, Jinyoung thought.

It was Mark who broke it, a few minutes later. "It's about my boyfriend- well, _ex-boyfriend_." He said, resting his chin on his knees as he wrapped his arms around his legs. Jinyoung only hummed in response, letting the other know that he was listening. "You aren't gonna judge me, or run away?" Mark bit his lower lip, looking hesitant.

"Judge you? Run away?" Jinyoung snorted. "I'm bisexual, and had some boyfriends before." He then looked back at the red-haired boy and smiled reassuringly. Mark smiled as well and continued talking.

"Well... we've been dating for seven months, until..." His voice trailed off. Jinyoung looked at him with worry when he noticed the tears that were threatening to fall down from the other's eyes. "...Until he broke up with me today, for no reason."

Jinyoung didn't know what to say, so instead, he only reached out a hand to rub circles on the other's back, hoping it could somehow help comfort him. "Do you love him that much that you'd jump off a building just because he broke up with you?" He asked, but he immediately regretted saying it. His eyes widened when he thought that it kind of sounded rude and offensive. Mark himself looked taken aback by the question, and Jinyoung started to panic once again. "I... I'm- I didn't mean to-" He paused and sighed. "I'm sorry..."

But instead of being offended and pushing Jinyoung away, Mark only smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, stupid isn't it?"

Jinyoung released the breath he didn't know he was holding. Feeling relieved that he didn't make things worse. "N-no... I didn't mean to say it... and I couldn't judge either, since you have your own reasons like I said earlier. It's just that... you're still young, and you could move on sooner or later, and then find the right one for you. Just- just live. Live for those people who care for you."

Mark sighed then nodded. "You're right... I realized that, too." He said, turning his head to look at Jinyoung. "Thank you... for saving me..."

Jinyoung smiled, and he was just about to say something when his phone rang. It was Jaebum. The clock reads six fifteen when he looked at his phone. _Shit_ , he muttered under his breath. He'd completely forgotten about Jaebum's plan until the other called.

"Park Jinyoung! Where the hell are you?!" Jaebum yelled from the other line as soon as he answered the call. Jinyoung winced and pulled his phone away from his ear. Mark just looked at him in amusement.

"Jae! Hi... I- I'm on my way now..." He lied, biting his lower lip.

" _I'm on my way now_ my ass!" Jaebum's voice sounded again, mocking Jinyoung's reply just a while ago. He can almost see Jaebum making a face from the other line based on his tone.

"Oh, shut up. I'm really on my way now." Jinyoung sighed and rolled his eyes as he stood up from where he was seated. He ended the call before Jaebum could even say a thing and returned his phone back to his pocket.

Mark looked up at him. "Jae? Jaebum?" He asked with eyebrows raised.

"...Yeah?" Jinyoung nodded, lifting an eyebrow as he looked down at the other. "You know him?"

"Um, well... kinda," Mark stood up and patted his pants. "We're classmates in Math this sem but we never really talked, since there are like eighty of us in the lecture hall."

"I see," Jinyoung checked his wrist watch. It's now six-thirty, and he probably had to go. "Well, goodbye then..." The thought of leaving Mark and maybe not seeing him again made Jinyoung feel a bit sad. He wished they could talk more for that night, but he knew he couldn't since he already made plans with his friends. Mark didn't say anything, so Jinyoung took that as a cue that he can leave.

Turning away, Jinyoung made his way back towards the door with heavy footsteps. He moved a hand to open the door but before he can even reach the knob, he felt a hand on his wrist and the next thing he knew he was being turned to the opposite direction.

"W-wait..." Mark stuttered, a look of hesitation was visible on his face.

Jinyoung lifted an eyebrow in both surprise and question. "You need something...?"

"You didn't tell me your name." Mark said, and cleared his throat. Jinyoung wasn't sure if he was flushing, or it was just the cold air that made his cheeks look pink.

 _Ah, right._ Jinyoung thought. _We've talked for almost an hour yet we forgot to introduce ourselves. Or more like I forgot to introduce myself -- well, formally, since I wasn't wearing my name plate. Isn't it just great?_ He bit his lips to stifle a laugh.

"It's Jinyoung," He said. "Park Jinyoung."

"Jinyoung... Park Jinyoung..." Mark repeated, as if he was testing the name on his mouth.

And if Jinyoung already liked the sound of the red-haired boy's laugh, then he liked the sound of his name coming out from Mark's mouth even more. It sounded different, but Jinyoung thought maybe it was just because of his deep voice.

"I'm Mark," The red-haired boy said, pulling Jinyoung off from his thoughts. "Mark Tuan." He finished, thrusting an arm forward as if he was asking for a handshake. His hand was warm when Jinyoung took it.

When Jinyoung waved his hand and said his last goodbye to Mark that night, he didn't know that that would be the last time he'd see him.

 

But since luck was always on Jinyoung's side, he met Mark again two weeks later -- and it was by pure serendipity as well.

Jinyoung was on the bus terminal, and he happened to have entered the wrong bus. He bumped into someone the moment he stepped out of the vehicle, and dropped his things. He called out a quick apology, and was about to bend down to pick up his own things when he saw a familiar shade of red as the man in front of him picked up Jinyoung's things for him.

"Mark?" He wasn't sure if it was him, since a lot of people seemed to have the same hair colors. But he still wanted to know if it was really him.

And, well, it was Mark. "Jinyoung." He said with a smile -- his deep voice sending a familiar wave of shivers down Jinyoung's spine -- as he handed Jinyoung's things back to him.

"W-why are you here?" He asked with wide eyes.

"Visiting my grandparents. I'm gonna spend my summer there." He answered, grabbing Jinyoung's wrist as he walked back to the terminal so they can sit on a bench. "How about you?"

"V-visiting my parents. I'm gonna spend my summer there, too..." Jinyoung's voice trailed off. Are they perhaps going to the same destination? He wanted to know, so he asked the elder. "Mark? What's the name of the place where your grandparents live?"

"Jinhae."

Jinyoung suddenly felt his heart rate pick up at that.

 

Later on that day, Jinyoung fell asleep on Mark's shoulder until they arrived to their destination. Jinyoung introduced Mark to his parents on the night, and Mark introduced Jinyoung to his grandparents on the next day.

They're only a few blocks away, so they hung out almost every day the whole summer vacation. Mark started to grow a liking to him as they became closer. Jinyoung also didn't mind if Mark didn't speak a lot, because just being by his side was already enough; because Jinyoung simply _liked_ him.

They'd both learned about each other soon enough. Mark told Jinyoung everything about his past on dark nights when the two of them are lying down on the roof of Mark's grandparents' house, looking at the star-littered sky. He told him about arriving in South Korea, when he was fourteen, with only a few knowledge of the language people there spoke. He told him about entering the university, and wanting to drop out or transfer because he didn't have a friend. About meeting his boyfriend, _ex-boyfriend_ , and thinking that it was love that will last forever. The hardships of their relationship, as well as the ups and downs of dating a boy named Kim Taehyung. Jinyoung knew who Kim Taehyung was, or had seen his face at least once -- and the name was too familiar to him. He soon learned that Kim Taehyung was a Freshman taking the same course as him, but had transferred to a different school in a different country for a reason nobody, not even his friends, know.

When the next semester began, Jinyoung was in his Junior year whilst Mark was in his Senior year. They'd agreed to dorm together since they didn't have roommates in the past semesters. Jinyoung worked on helping Mark become more fluent in Korean during their free times. And as a side project, he worked on making the elder fall in love with him.

It wasn't until Mark's graduation that he'd finally met Kim Taehyung.

Jinyoung was nineteen, and Mark was twenty. Mark graduated with honors, and after the ceremony, Jinyoung ran towards him and gave him a warm and tight hug. It seemed like Mark didn't notice Taehyung's prescence in the venue at that time, and Jinyoung didn't tell him either. It was just an evanescent memory, though, and the last thing Jinyoung could remember was a boy gazing at their direction, wearing a bittersweet smile on his face.

That night, Mark brought Jinyoung to the place where they first met. He poured his heart out to the younger before gently pushing him down the cold concrete ground. He sealed Jinyoung's lips with a kiss -- it was gentle and sweet and full of emotions.

Both of them cried tears of joy, and that was the beginning of _them_.

 

》》》

 

Five days have passed, but Mark's still lying motionless on the hospital bed. He gets paler, and skinnier with each passing day, and to say that Jinyoung is worried is an understatement.

He stayed beside Mark for a majority of those days. But there were times that he'd lean down to whisper on his boyfriend's ear and excuse himself to leave for work, since he has a milktea shop to look after, and also students to teach on their summer classes. Then he'd return to the hospital hours later and go back to his position beside Mark.

Mark's first sign of life is a twitch of his eyes, and then followed by his fingers. Jinyoung's heart rate picks up, and before he can think of anything, he rises up from his seat and begins running down the hallways towards the doctor's office.

"Dr. Im! Mark's waking up!" Jinyoung informs him, out of breath from all the running.

They both return to the room immediately, watching as Jinyoung's other half slowly awakens from his deep slumber. Relief floods throughout Jinyoung's body, and tears begin to form in his eyes -- threatening to fall, but not yet falling.

Dr. Im walks to Mark first, quickly conducting necessary physical checkups on the newly awakened man. Jinyoung obligingly stands on the side, as what the doctor told him.

"Everything seems fine to me. His vitals are stable, but the wounds on his head might take a little more time to heal, so he may have to say here for at least a week more before he can finally be discharged." Dr. Im says, looking at Mark, then at Jinyoung, before nodding and walking out of the room.

It's only when the doctor is gone, and he's seated next to Mark that Jinyoung lets the tears fall from his eyes. Every drop burns the tracks of his tears down his cheeks, as he takes Mark's hand and opens his mouth to speak. His words come out incoherently as he let them out through quivering lips, and in between sobs and sniffles. "Mark... t-thank god you're finally awake. Y-you scared me, you idiot. I- I thought I was gonna lose you, a-and I don't know what will I do i-if that happens..." He pauses, taking in a deep breath. "I'm so s-sorry, baby. I- I n-never should've let you go alone on that day... god, I was so scared. But I'm so glad that y-you're finally awake..."

Mark looks at him, and blinks slowly. There's a glint of confusion in his eyes, and he slightly tilts his head to the side as he takes in the sight of Jinyoung crying beside him whilst holding his hand. And Jinyoung assumes that the elder doesn't remember his accident, and doesn't know why is he in a hospital room.

But if Jinyoung's world is as fragile as a clear glass bead, then everything crumbles down into a million tiny shards to his feet the moment Mark opens his mouth to speak.

"Who are you?"

Jinyoung couldn't think of a time he'd been hurt like this in his entire life.

 

》》》

 

"Why?"

Jinyoung asks the doctor with desperate, bloodshot eyes. He wanted to cry more, but he's already cried himself dry for three hours straight -- before finally going out of Mark's room and walking towards the doctor's office.

The doctor across the table stands up and sighs. He then walks towards Jinyoung, and places a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. But it doesn't.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Park. But during diagnosis, we may have missed reviewing some details, and the chances of Mr. Tuan to experience amnesia." Dr. Im tells him. Jinyoung shakes his head in disbelief, but he's listening. But he's also praying, and trying to convince himself that all of this was fake -- or a dream, and then later on he will wake up and everything will be fine. _This can't be real_ , he tells himself. _Everything was so perfect..._

"The assessment shows that there's only a ten percent chance that such impact would cause post-traumatic amnesia to the patient," Dr. Im's voice sounds again, pulling Jinyoung off from his thoughts. _Ten percent_ , Jinyoung wants to laugh. _This must've been a kind of a sick joke._ "It seems like the worst-case scenario has came true, that's why Mr. Tuan doesn't remember you, Mr. Park. I'm really sorry."

Just as when Jinyoung thought he couldn't cry anymore, tears started falling down his cheeks again. He wipes them with the back of his hands, but they still keep on flowing. Dr. Im is in the middle of explaining something, but Jinyoung isn't listening anymore. His mind is occupied with a million thoughts -- most of them are _what ifs_ , and the fear of losing Mark completely -- to pay attention.

"Will he still remember?" He manages to ask, his heart aching for himself at how desperate and weak and broken and pitiful he sounds.

Jinyoung initially assumed that Mark was only playing a cruel prank on him, and even up to now, he still wants to believe that his assumption was true -- that all of this was just a sick prank, and that Mark will apologize to him for playing it when he comes back to the room. But the genuine confusion on the elder's face a few hours ago when Jinyoung cried beside him, and how he withdrew his hand away from the younger, tells him otherwise. Jinyoung can practically hear his heart breaking into a million pieces.

"It will probably take some time to cure post-traumatic amnesia, since it's the mind that's pushing away the traumatic memories and other associations." Dr. Im tells him. Then he goes to explain why Mark seemed to forget anything, and everything that may have been considered as _bad memories_. He also goes to explain the possibilities of why Mark fails in recognizing important people in his life. Jinyoung listens to him, this time. "Remember, you just have to trigger those memories _slowly_. Pushing too much might stress his brain out, and he could lose those memories forever. You don't want that to happen, do you, Mr. Park?"

Jinyoung nods. He couldn't help but think about the words _traumatic memories_. All Jinyoung knew was Mark's accident happened when he did a u-turn -- when he was supposed to go straight to the vacation spot -- probably to go back home. He also knew that the elder must've been worried about him that he'd lost focus on the road, and failed to see the truck. But still, he didn't understand a few things; _Aside from the accident, what other memories are considered 'traumatic' for Mark?_ _What have I done wrong? Why was I forgotten? Just- why...?_

 _"It will probably take some time to cure post-traumatic amnesia,"_ the doctor's words from earlier echoes in his mind. _Time_ , he says in his mind. _How long will I have to wait?_

 

》》》

 

Jinyoung finds himself sitting on his position beside Mark's bed once more, that night. The clock reads nine o'clock, and he's feeding the elder cereal because that's the only thing the hospital can offer at that time.

"Who did you say you were, again?" Mark asks when he was done eating.

 _Your boyfriend. Your other half._ Jinyoung wants to say, but his more rational self reminds him of Dr. Im's words from hours ago about trying too hard to trigger the memories might cause Mark to forget them forever. With a heavy heart and a weak smile, Jinyoung says, "Someone who's in love with you..." in the most quiet voice he could muster. The elder looks at him in surprise, and he tilts his head slightly. Curiosity must've been killing him at that time, Jinyoung thought. Mark goes to open his mouth, but Jinyoung stops him. "Don't you remember anything at all...?"

Mark shrugs, and frowns. "Er, am I forgetting something, though?" Every word Mark says that hurts feels like a stab to Jinyoung's heart. "Well, except from... you... I don't remember anything about you, and you seem to be really upset about that... I'm sorry...?"

"...It's okay..." Jinyoung's voice trails off. _The correct term is heartbroken_ , he thought as he swallows the lump on his throat, but Mark didn't have to know that. He can't believe that he has to pretend that the past six years did not happen until the elder gets his memories back. "We live together..." Jinyoung manages to say.

"We do?"

Another stab to his heart, but Jinyoung remains strong. "Yes. Your parents bought an apartment for you as a graduation gift. I moved there a year after, when I graduated from university as well."

"But... I don't even know you, though? How am I supposed to believe you?" Mark says, lifting his eyebrows in suspicion.

That's another stab to Jinyoung's heart.

He hands Mark his wallet and other things that the nurses gave to him. "F-find your ID card." He stutters as he grabs his own wallet and pulls out his own card.

"Did you just look through _my_ things?"

And another stab. It's slowly driving Jinyoung insane. "We've been living together for _six years_ , Mark. We literally share _everything_!" He blurts out, but immediately regretting it when he sees how Mark's orbs darken a little. _No... shit..._

"Been together....? Share everything...?" Mark murmurs with furrowed brows, but he still pulls out his ID card and hands it to Jinyoung.

The younger holds their cards together and shows them to Mark, completely ignoring his inquiries since it will clearly just trigger more confusion instead of memories. "Look, we have the same address," Jinyoung informs him. He still can't believe that there comes a day when Mark doesn't know him, and doesn't believe in him when he's saying literally just the basic informations about _them_. "Mark Tuan and Park Jinyoung."

Mark blinks at him slowly, and nods. "So I really do live with you...?" Mark asks one last time. Jinyoung only manages a nod. "Er, well... you're attractive, I must say, and... kind of my type. But I already have a boyfriend." The elder says.

Jinyoung freezes on his spot as a he feels a stab in his heart once more. And if there's still something that is left in his fragile heart, then it shatters itself into dust when Mark opens his mouth to speak again.

"Do you perhaps know where Taehyung is?"

 

》》》

 

Jinyoung hates himself more and more as he thinks, and he blames himself for what happened to Mark.

He blames himself for getting sick on that day; blames himself for not letting Mark stay; blames himself for not coming with him and that Mark had to go alone; blames himself for making him worry too much that he'd lost focus on the road. But most of all, he blames himself that those were the reasons why Mark, after everything, doesn't remember who he was.

Mark had looked at him with blank eyes, and Jinyoung felt like he was reintroducing himself to another man. Even when Jinyoung was just talking about the basic things about _them_ had Mark raising his eyebrows in suspicion, and it never failed to wipe away the hopeful smile Jinyoung had on his face.

Jinyoung feels broken, alone, _devastated_. And he couldn't stand how Mark kept on talking about Kim Taehyung, kept asking about his whereabouts. So Jinyoung runs away from the room, away from the hospital. Away from Mark.

He needed to at least _breathe_ , so to the bar is where he goes.

 

It's now four in the morning; four hours since he arrived. The air is chilly, and there are less people in the place. Jinyoung managed to drink three-fourths of the bottle of tequila he'd bought only for himself, and he'd found himself crying every few minutes during those hours. Jinyoung's mind didn't wander away from Mark, and how everything about _them_ changed overnight, as he drank.

He's now just staring blankly at the window, looking out at the empty streets with his back leaned against the wall, and an empty shot glass in his hand -- the almost-empty bottle of tequila completely neglected on the table. His eyes are puffy and red, and his cheeks are stained with tear tracks from all the crying that he did. His head hurts, but he also feels numb.

One of the bartenders approaches him. It's Jackson, one of his and Jaebum's friends. He goes to sit on the chair across Jinyoung.

"Hey," Jackson says, voice soft. Jinyoung didn't say anything. "I've heard what happened to Mark, and I'm sorry. But it's all going to get better soon." He assures with a genuine look of worry on his face. Jinyoung only gives him a small, weak smile when he looks at him. There's a few minutes of silence, then Jackson speaks again. "Can you get home on your own? If not, then I'll call Jaebum." He says, but he didn't really wait for Jinyoung to respond as he immediately grabs his phone from his pocket and dialed Jaebum's number.

Jaebum arrives minutes later. He thanks Jackson one last time before he goes out of the bar, carrying a sleeping, drunk Park Jinyoung on his back. Jaebum gently places him on the backseat, secures him in the seatbelt, and puts his head to a more comfortable position. He drives towards Mark and Jinyoung's apartment slowly, glancing at his bestfriend through the rearview mirror every now and then with worry and concern etched on his face. "Everything will soon go back to the way it was before, my friend. I know you're strong. I know you never give up easily, and can endure all of this. I'll always be here when you need me."

 

》》》

 

Six days.

It's been six days since Jinyoung had last gone to the hospital -- six days since he'd last seen Mark. Jinyoung busied himself with his works during those days, in an attempt to stop himself from thinking too much about Mark and everything that happened.

But, still, there are moments where Jinyoung just disappears from his table in the office, and then return minutes later with obvious puffy and red eyes even though he has his head looking down. All of his co-teachers in the office have noticed, but Choi Youngjae, Jaebum's fiancé, was the first one to talk to him about it. He pulled Jinyoung back to the office when all of their co-teachers have left, and asked him about it with eyes full of concern. It seems like Jaebum hasn't told him about what happened to Mark, yet. Jinyoung initially wanted to tell him that everything's fine then run away, but the genuine concern glinting in Youngjae's eyes couldn't help but make him feel worse; because he was letting his situation affect his work and his co-teachers.

When Jinyoung finally found the courage to spill out the whole story, Youngjae, with tears glossing in his eyes, reaches out to pull him to a comforting hug. "I'm so sorry for what happened, Jinyoung hyung. Everything will get better soon." He assures, rubbing circles on Jinyoung's back.

Jinyoung hopes it will, but he's also not sure when, and how long will he need to wait. He bursts into tears once more, holding on the younger tightly and desperately believing in his words -- because he has nothing left to believe in, but for things to get better soon.

That night, when Jinyoung arrives home, he goes to open the fridge and drinks all the cans of beer they had left. The hospital notifies him that Mark can be discharged tomorrow. Jinyoung cries himself to sleep once more, unsure if he will be able to see Mark's face tomorrow without breaking down in front of him.

 

》》》

 

"Jinyoung, wake up," Jaebum says, shaking the younger's body softly. It's almost ten in the morning. He sighs, and stands up to open the curtains, letting the sunlight infiltrate the windows and enter the room. When he returns to his position on the bed, Jinyoung's scrunching his face and covering his eyes with his hand. "Hey, get up. The sun is out."

"So, what am I supposed to do? Photosynthesis?" Jinyoung sarcastically says, voice hoarse. But he does what Jaebum told him.

Jaebum rolls his eyes and hits his bestfriend on the head. "Idiot, we're going to the hospital. Your _other half_ will be discharged today, have you forgotten?" He says, hopping off the bed.

"No, I haven't." Jinyoung blankly replies. _I was the one who was forgotten_ , he says in his mind. Shaking his head, he gets off the bed, grabs his towel, and goes to the bathroom to take a shower. He looks at himself in the mirror after he's dressed in a new set of clothes, noticing how visible his eyebags and dark circles have become.

When he gets out of the room, Jaebum's sitting on the couch and scrolling through his phone. He looks up upon noticing his bestfriend's presence. "Oh, wow, you look like a _decent_ human being today." He remarks, sarcastically, and it's Jinyoung's turn to roll his eyes this time.

"Thanks. Now let's just go."

Jaebum laughs, getting off the couch to walk towards his bestfriend. He has an arm wrapped on Jinyoung's shoulder as they walk out of the apartment, and towards the parking lot.

 

》》》

 

Dr. Im looked at him with sympathy etched on his face, the moment Jinyoung entered his office later that morning. Jinyoung signed a few papers, before getting out of the office.

With heavy footsteps, Jinyoung walks down the hallways of the hospital, towards where Mark is. He isn't sure what to say or what to do as he stands in front of the door outside his boyfriend's room. But this is _still_ his other half that's behind the door -- despite the fact that he doesn't remember who Jinyoung was, anymore -- so he still takes the risk.

He knocks on the door before entering the room. Mark is sitting on the bed -- still dressed in hospital clothing -- fidgeting his fingers. He looks up upon noticing his presence, and Jinyoung offers him a small smile.

"You're getting discharged today," Jinyoung says softly, placing the set of clothes he has brought for the elder on the bed.

Mark grins at that, glancing at the clothes. "These are mine?"

 _Ours_ , he says in his mind. He nods to the elder in response, and says, "They are. We'll head home after you're done changing."

Mark looks at him for a moment, blinking. Jinyoung lifts his eyebrows in question, before realizing why the elder was looking at him like that. _Oh... right..._

He bites his lower lip as he turns around. It's as if Jinyoung hasn't seen _everything_ Mark has to offer. He can still recall the first time he'd seen Mark completely naked. They'd been dating for three months at that time. Mark was taking a shower when he suddenly emerged from the bathroom to ask Jinyoung where the conditioner was. The look of shock in his face when he covered his _thing_ never failed to make Jinyoung laugh whenever he'd thought of it. He'd also called Mark 'small penis' shortly after that _incident_ , and the elder hadn't talked to him for two days because of that.

 _Was that perhaps considered as 'traumatic' to Mark?_ Jinyoung's bites his lips to stifle a laugh at the thought. But his bliss didn't last that long when he thinks about the possibility of Mark completely forgetting about their memories together, about _them_. It's really as if he's reintroducing himself to Mark, but then again, that's what exactly is happening now. Mark doesn't even remember meeting him, so there's no way he could remember even the little facts about them.

In just a week, six years suddenly meant nothing to one half of _them_. Jinyoung feels a stab to his heart again. But it didn't break his mental plan of 'Making Mark Tuan fall in love with me: If I made him fall for me once, then I can do it again'. It's like back in the university days, but this time Jinyoung is more determined than ever.

The rustling of clothes comes to a halt, and Mark's voice sounds again. "Hey, Jinyoung? You said that I should tell you if I ever remember something new, right?" He asks. Jinyoung turns around to face him, and only nods in response. "Well, I remembered something... I think?"

Jinyoung was a little bit taken aback by that, and he looks at his boyfriend with hopeful eyes. "What is it?" He asks, trying his best not to sound desperate.

"Um, there's this... song... that I kept on humming the past days, but I don't know why, though. And it kind of makes me want to look for something... but I don't know what it is."

 _Oh..._ Jinyoung stifles a smile. He knows exactly what that _song_ Mark is talking about. It was the song that immediately came out in Jinyoung's mind, six years ago, when he received a notice that he'll perform on the seniors' graduation ceremony. It was the song that Jinyoung sang in front of everyone, yet he was only looking at one person.

He realized it's been years since he'd last sung that song, and he silently wonders if he could still remember the lyrics. But the thoughts hurt more than they heal. Jinyoung might be able to remember the lyrics to that song, but Mark probably still won't be able remember him even if he sings that song again.

 

》》》

 

When they arrive in their apartment, the first thing that Mark does is to sit down on the couch and look through his things that's still in a plastic bag. Jinyoung sits beside him, at a good distance -- and this hurts as well because Mark usually makes Jinyoung sit on his lap when they're in the living room.

"Is this my phone?" Mark asks, pulling the device out. The screen has cracks, and the case has several scratches, but it still turns on when Mark presses the power button. He then turns the phone in all directions to inspect it. "This is cute." He remarks as he looks at the phone case -- a pink colour with peach, and banana emojis in the middle.

 _You were the one who customized our phone cases; of course you'd think it's cute._ A smile makes its way to Jinyoung's face as he looks at his boyfriend. "I have the same one," Jinyoung says, pulling out his own phone from his pocket, and showing it to Mark. "But mine is blue."

Mark looks at it in awe, before looking back at his own phone. "We have matching phone cases. I think it's kind of cute, but yours still looks fine while mine looks awful..." His voice trails off, and he pouts his lips. Jinyoung suddenly has the urge to lean forward and kiss him -- but his more rational self opts him not to.

He sighs, and gives the elder a small smile before saying, "I can buy you a new one, if you want? Let's also have your phone's screen rapaired."

Mark's face brightens at that. He then moves closer to throw an arm around Jinyoung's shoulder, and grins. "Really?" He says. Jinyoung bites back a smile, and he feels himself flushing. He only manages a nod as a reply.

It almost feels like nothing changed; but everything did.

 

》》》

 

"Jinyoung?"

"Hm?"

"What's my security pin?" Mark asks, extending his arm across the table to hand his phone to Jinyoung.

It's a Saturday afternoon, and they're currently inside a fast-food chain in the mall. They initially went to the phone accessory shop the moment they stepped in the mall -- it's the shop where they'd bought their customized phone cases last year (when Mark can still remember who he was). The shop owner had told them to wait for at least three hours before they can get the phone case, so they went to a cellphone repair shop next to get Mark's phone screen fixed.

Jinyoung didn't answer Mark's inquiry, and just blinks at the elder instead.

"What? You seem to know a lot about me. My first guess didn't work." He says with a slight pout on his face. Jinyoung, again, has the urge to lean forward and kiss that pout away.

"What did you try, though?"

"Um, 220994...? I don't know why, but... it kind of just... popped out in my head."

"It's 942209." Jinyoung answers with a sigh, and rolls his eyes. _It's my birthday, idiot..._

Obligingly, Mark types in the digits, and when his phone unlocks, he looks up to look at Jinyoung in amazement. He then locks his device again, and puts it down on the table before he continues eating. Jinyoung shakes his head at the sight, and he couldn't help it but smile as his heart suddenly feels warm.

But, then again, Jinyoung's bliss doesn't seem to last long these days.

 

Jinyoung had excused himself earlier to go to the comfort room. And when he returns to their table a few minutes later, his heart aches when he sees Mark scrolling through his contact list with furrowed brows, probably confused at the names. Mark pauses for a long time as he stares at the contact named 'My love, Prince Jinyoungie'. It's Jinyoung's entry. And from where Jinyoung is currently standing, just inches away, from behind Mark, he can see the elder press the edit button, maybe intending to change the contact name.

That's another stab to Jinyoung's heart. He doesn't know if he'll be able to bear seeing Mark actually changing his contact name, so, turning on his heels, he heads back towards the comfort room. He locks himself inside a cubicle, and bites the urge to cry, _again_.

Jinyoung really didn't want to cry -- well, at least until he's out of Mark's line of sight.

 

He returns minutes later; sitting back to his chair without saying a word. His eyes are probably slightly red, he thinks, as Mark looks at him with concern on his face. The elder goes to open his mouth, but Jinyoung speaks first.

"Mark." He says, a bit proud of himself for not sounding weak or broken after crying.

The elder looks at him with an unsure smile. "Yes...?"

"Do you still remember what I'd told you? That whenever you remember something new, you'd have to tell it to me immediately?"

"Sure. Why not?" Mark grins. "Who else should I tell them to, though, aside from the man that I'll be going to see every day?"

Relief floods in Jinyoung's entire body, but everything still hurts the same. _So far so good, I guess...?_ He thinks. _First, Mark remembers that song, though he doesn't know what's the title, and what he'd said he was looking for, but it's okay. And now, he trusts me..._

He offers the fakest smile he's ever managed in front of his other half before he rises up from his seat, and walks towards the exit. But _this_ Mark doesn't know the difference between his smiles, and probably couldn't tell which one is real, and which one is forced.

After paying for the phone case, Mark immediately puts it on his phone, and smiles at the sight. Jinyoung assumes that the elder's only smiling because he thinks it looks cute, and not because he and Jinyoung have matching designs. They're now walking towards the exit, and are just about to pass through the electronic sliding doors, when they hear someone calling their names.

"Jinyoung! Mark!"

The voice is deep, and the familiarity of it sends shivers down Jinyoung's spine, and he suddenly feels his heart practically skip a beat.

It's Taehyung.

 

Jinyoung's eyes lock with Taehyung's for a few seconds, before he turns his head to look at Mark. And when the elder is looking at Taehyung with a smile so bright, Jinyoung thinks that all those stabs to his heart in the past few days combined were nothing compared to the pang in his heart he's currently feeling as he takes in the sight of his other half; who's looking at another man as if he was the only thing in this world.

Jinyoung suddenly feels sick -- a part of him wants to grab Mark on his wrist and pull him away. But his more rational self keeps on winning the mental battle, every time, so all he manages to do is to keep his head down as he does his best to prevent himself from crying on the spot.

 

》》》

 

 _'Jinyoung? What happened to Mark?'_ Jinyoung reads as soon as he opens his Messenger. It's a message from Taehyung.

The cold air is biting on his skin from where he's standing on the terrace of their apartment. When he looks up to the sky, the stars and the moon are shining bright. And Jinyoung kind of feels bad because _how could they shine so bright, when I'm hurting on the inside?_ He sighs, and then goes to type in a reply. _'He lost his memories.'_

Jinyoung knew that Taehyung didn't know anything; the genuine look of confusion the younger boy gave him -- when Mark had ran towards him and pulled him into a tight hug -- tells him so. It hurt when he saw how his boyfriend's face lightened up because of another man, and not because of him. But as much as it hurt, there were happiness Mark's eyes when he spoke to Taehyung. And Jinyoung couldn't find it in himself to say anything when Taehyung had kept on looking at him in question and confusion; because Mark's happiness meant the world to him -- even if it brought him nothing but pain.

Taehyung's replies came a few minutes later:

_'Oh my god...'_

_'I'm so sorry, Jinyoung.'_

_'I wish I can do anything to help...'_

_'He kept on chatting me, but I muted him.'_

_'Should I block him?'_

And Jinyoung couldn't help it but let the smile make its way on his face. He just can't find it in himself to be mad at this kid. Taehyung never did anything wrong to _them_ , ever since their relationship started. When the younger boy finally found the courage to show himself to Mark, three years ago, the first thing that he did was to apologize for breaking up with him without a reason, and for running away just like that. The next thing that he did was to thank Jinyoung for saving Mark, and for taking care of him. Mark wasn't mad at him, at all, and he even joked on thanking Taehyung for doing that, because that exactly was the reason why he'd met Jinyoung. And to make their _reunion_ even more fun, Taehyung had also brought his boyfriend with him; his name was Yoongi.

 _'It's okay.'_ Jinyoung replies. _'But can you perhaps send to me all the messages that he's sent to you?'_

Obligingly, Taehyung replies within seceonds and sends a couple of screenshots to Jinyoung. He almost regrets asking for it as he reads everything -- and the more he reads them, the more his heart aches.

_'Taehyung, I miss you so much!'_

_'Hey, why aren't you replying to me?'_

_'Babe are you ignoring me?'_

_'Can we meet this week, please?'_

And those are just some of Mark's messages. Jinyoung closes his eyes shut as tears start to form, and he takes in a deep breath before sending a reply. _'Thank you, Taehyung.'_

_'No problem. I'll make sure to send you screenshots of his messages every time he chats me.'_

Jinyoung's grateful at that.

He's just about to lock his phone, when a thought suddenly pops up in his mind. So, he turns the wi-fi on again, then opens his Messenger. _'Taehyung? Are you still there? Can I ask you a favor?'_ Jinyoung sends, and stares at his phone as he waits for a reply.

Surprisingly, Taehyung replies just a few seconds. _'Yes. What is it?'_

Jinyoung takes in another deep breath before replying. _'If Mark tells you to meet up, then can you perhaps go?'_

_'Are you sure about this?'_

_'Yes, I am. I just thought seeing you might... help with his situation?'_

_'Okay, then? I'll ask permission from Yoongi first.'_

_'Thank you, Taehyung.'_

_'Anything, Jinyoung.'_

_Please take care of my boyfriend_ , Jinyoung says in his mind as he locks his phone, and puts it back to his pocket. The thought of Mark seeing Taehyung whenever the elder asks hurts. But Jinyoung's been good at enduring pain, so far, so he thinks he might be able to endure it for a little more -- at least until Mark gains his memories back. _For how long will I have to wait?_ He finds himself asking again. _For how long will I still keep on hurting?_

 

When he steps back to the living room, Mark is sitting on the couch and staring at his phone on the table with furrowed brows. Jinyoung goes to take a seat, a few inches away, beside him.

"Are you having a staring contest with your phone?"

It takes a few more seconds before Mark shifts his attention away from his phone and looks at Jinyoung. "No. I was waiting for Taehyung to reply, but I think he's ignoring me..." He says with a pout.

Jinyoung bites his lower lip. "Maybe he's already asleep? It's getting late now, anyway. Maybe we should go to sleep as well."

What Mark said next almost had Jinyoung breaking down right in front of him as the elder's words hurt like nails scratching on a chalkboard.

"I think I'll just sleep here. I just realized that a taken man shouldn't be sleeping on a bed with another man."

Jinyoung does his best to stifle his emotions, and to refrain himself from yelling out; _But I am your boyfriend, idiot! Dammit, we've been sleeping beside each other for six years!_

 

That night, the bed is colder than ever without Mark's warmth radiating towards him. It hurt when the elder had his back facing Jinyoung when they were sleeping on the bed the past weeks. But that pain is nothing compared to not having him near. His grief shows itself in different ways, and he suddenly feels alone; despite everyone swearing to be there for him. But still, Mark is his number one source of hope that was taken away from him faster than he could even think. So, that night, he cries himself to sleep on Mark's pillow -- inhaling the remains of his scent, and missing the days when everything around them used to be as perfect as he could imagine -- as the cold sheets wrap themselves around his body.

 

》》》

 

Two weeks later, Mark still doesn't know who he was, and he doesn't even have the slightest clue about the little things that Jinyoung tells him about _them_. And it hurts that there isn't a single thing that Jinyoung could do about it. They'd never slept on the same bed again ever since the day they met Taehyung in the mall. They'd alternate on who sleeps on the bed and who sleeps on the couch in the living room; but whenever it was Jinyoung's turn to sleep on the bed, he'd always found himself curled up on the other couch near Mark in the living room with tear tracks still visible on his face -- just because he'd thought he slept better knowing that his other half was there, and near him. Even if it was not who he used to be.

Jinyoung never forgets to remind himself about the doctor's words; that doing the little things that might seem familiar to Mark can speed up his recovery, and that pressuring him too much could make things worse. But, Jinyoung is growing impatient as the days pass by; and each day that pass hurts more than the previous one. So, slowly, he was losing hope that the day Mark recovers his memories might ever happen at all. His faith in Mark, and his recovery, suddenly wandered dangerously close to dissipating.

And the thought of giving up on Mark hurts him, too. But Jinyoung became better at coping up with pain, even though it proved itself to be a lot harder than it seemed to be. So, there was no way he'll give up on his other half -- not when he's already came this far. _Try forgetting about it all and just think of something else_ ; it's easier said than done -- especially when Jinyoung's seeing the cause of his pain every single day.

Mark and Taehyung hung out almost every day during those weeks, and Jinyoung had to always try his hardest to keep a straight face whenever the elder told him about how his day went with a bright smile plastered on his face. It seemed like his plan of 'Mark meeting Taehyung often might help his recovery' from two weeks ago wasn't working at all, and was only making things worse, for him, for _them_. So, Jinyoung grew a bit jealous at that; but he knew he couldn't bring himself be mad at either of them. People always say that love conquers all -- Jinyoung wished it did.

 

One day, when Jinyoung's at his milktea shop to help with all the work, Yugyeom suddenly emerged from the kitchen towards the counter, and spoke without warning. "Hyung, maybe this is a sign that you should look for someone new." Yugyeom says, his voice quiet so only Jinyoung could hear.

He almost drops the cup of taro he's currently handing to a customer as he jumps in his place, and his fingers stutter, at the sudden remark. He offers a quick apology to the customer before turning his head to look at his tall worker. "What do you mean?"

"Er, well... we've never talked about it, but, we've seen how you've been in the past weeks, hyung. You really thought we wouldn't notice that you've cried when you suddenly disappeared from where you've last been, then return minutes later?" Yugyeom continues. "If it's really hurting you, then maybe you should just... let him go? There are a lot of people out there who wants you, you know..."

BamBam, his other worker in his shop and also Yugyeom's bestfriend, suddenly materializes from thin air and elbows his bestfriend on his side.

 _Was I really that obvious?_ Jinyoung sighs. "I've already said this a million times, and I'll never get tired of saying for a million more; I love Mark. I love him, so much, and I will never ever let him go no matter how much it hurts. I will never ever give up on him because he's more than worth it." He says firmly. He's really got better at enduring pain.

Yugyeom and BamBam give each other a look, before looking at Jinyoung with worry plastered on their faces. Jinyoung sighs once more, and takes a seat on the chair near the counter. Just then, the bell on the front door of the shop rings; signaling the three of them that a customer just entered the place.

Or maybe not just one.

When Jinyoung lifts his head to look up, the first things that he sees is -- of course, of all the people -- Mark, walking hand in hand with none other than Kim Taehyung; as the two of them look around the place. Jinyoung's chest suddenly feels heavy at the sight. So, rising up his seat, he turns on his heels and practically sprints his way towards the kitchen; leaving the worried bestfriends by the counter.

 

》》》

 

Jinyoung finds himself curled up on the couch of their living room on a Friday night; watching a movie that he's been wanting to watch for weeks. There are open bags of chips that are almost empty on the small table in front, and also some cans of beer. He's too engaged in watching the movie that he didn't notice the front door creak open, and when he turns to his side, Mark is there sitting closely beside him. Startled, he jumps on his place slightly, and the elder grins.

"What are you watching?" Mark asks, and Jinyoung crosses his legs as he shifts his attention back to the movie.

"The Vow." He answers, although the elder could easily read the title on the screen. Mark raises his eyebrows. He'd never really liked watching movies with this genre, though Jinyoung had always forced him to watch anyway -- not that Mark could remember.

"The Vow...? I think I remember watching that before..." Mark's voice trails off as he furrows his brows. "Isn't that about a couple who got into a car accident... then the girl forgot about the guy, and the guy tried to make her fall in love with him again?"

Jinyoung nods, turning his head to look back at Mark. _It's kind of like our story right now; except that you're the only one who got in a car accident, and you're not a girl._ "Yes, that's it."

They fall into a comfortable silence -- but it's different from what Jinyoung is used to -- as they emerged themselves in watching the movie. At some time, Jinyoung's mind suddenly wanders back to the other day; at Yugyeom's words, and at the sight of Mark holding hands with Taehyung. _You keep holding onto the past when you shouldn't be_ , someone tells him. _Is there really harm in doing so?_ He thinks. _But Mark is holding onto the past, too. The only difference is that he's not hurting like I do._ His fingers suddenly grip on the cushion he's holding as he stifles a cry -- both from the movie, and from the pain that never left him.

"Jinyoung? How have you been the past days, by the way?" Mark asks, minutes later. The movie is about to end.

 _I'm still hurting_ , he thinks, but the elder doesn't need to know that. So instead, he replies, "The usual. Teaching summer classes at morning, then running a milktea shop at late afternoon."

Jinyoung turns his head to look at Mark, and the elder looks at him back with interested eyes. Suddenly, Mark leans closer to him -- though Jinyoung thinks that the elder doesn't realize what he's doing. But still, Jinyoung always revel in the moments where everything feels like the way it used to be; as if the pain never existed, at all.

Then again -- for the nth time -- his bliss didn't last that long.

As soon as the elder opens his mouth to speak again, the dust of the remnants of Jinyoung's heart crumbles themselves into a million pieces more (if that is even possible).

"Wow, you own a milktea shop? I think I'll have to bring Taehyung there someday." Mark says, smiling to himself. And Jinyoung, once again, pretends that he didn't feel another stab to his heart at the exact same spot.

He didn't say anything after that, and only manages a nod as a response. The movie comes to an end, and Jinyoung immediately turns the television off, and rises up from his seat.

 

Jinyoung had done some acting back in their university days, but now he isn't as great as he used to before.

He'd talked to Mark during dinner -- before going to bed -- and swallowed in the bitterness that he was feeling when he'd asked the elder about how his day went. But, he'd immedialely regretted asking when Mark happily spoke about the _date_ he and Taehyung had been on,  and all the other cute couple things that they've done. All Jinyoung had managed to do was to bite his lower lip, and held back his tears as he listened to his other half talk about someone else. To think that that used to be _them_ hurt in every single way.

That night, it was Mark's turn to sleep on the bed. Jinyoung waited until the elder fell asleep, and went to the kitchen to drink on the remaining cans of beer in the fridge; silently crying, and hopelessly feeling alone.

 

》》》

 

"Jinyoung, this isn't working. I think we should stop this." Taehyung says from across the table, and the look of worry on his face is prominent.

It's a Wednesday afternoon, and Jinyoung had texted him earlier to meet up.  Taehyung obligingly agreed.

"I know it's hurting you whenever Mark's with me... So please, Jinyoung, let's end this..." His voice trails off. "For how long do you think you can endure all the pain, Jinyoung? You don't deserve all of this."

He knows that Taehyung is right. It's been more than a month since the day Mark forgets everything about him, about _them_. More than a month had gone by, yet Jinyoung is still reaching; even though he knows that Mark's not there. But, still, Jinyoung wants to remain strong.

"Until Mark remembers me, Taehyung. That's how long I am willing to wait; that's how long I am willing to bear with all the excruciating pain." He manages to say, reaching out an arm across the table to hold the younger's hand. "So please, help me for a little more. Don't leave Mark. You know how he'd been when you suddenly left him..." He pleads, and he hates how he sounded almost desperate.

Taehyung sighs, and nods. "You're gonna have to treat me with a month supply of milktea when all of this ends." He jokes, grinning as he squeezes Jinyoung's hand in an attempt to lighten up the mood.

And, well, it somehow did.

 

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Mark asks, later that night when Jinyoung's in their apartment kitchen, cooking something to eat for dinner.

He was busy adding some condiments when Mark suddenly emerged into the kitchen and asked him that question. Jinyoung blows air to his bangs in irritation when he accidentally spills a little too much salt onto the pot. "Why did you ask?"

"I just want to know," Mark shrugs. "I kind of just... suddenly remembered you saying that you're someone who's in love with me when I asked you who you were back in the hospital."

Jinyoung pauses on what he's doing and sighs, giving up on saving the dish he was cooking from its salty state to look at Mark. "Yes, I have a boyfriend. Why? Are you starting to fall in love with me, and want to steal me from him?" He says, lifting an eyebrow.

"Maybe?" Mark shrugs again. Jinyoung bites back a smile. "But who's your boyfriend, though? I've never really seen you with anyone else but... er... well, me..." He says, voice trailing off, and bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his head.

Jinyoung thinks it's cute when he looks at the sight of Mark being shy in front of him. But he also thinks that this part is where he's probably supposed to burst into tears, fall on his knees and hold onto Mark's legs looking utterly pitiful, and shout at him through sniffles and sobs and burning tears -- plead for him to remember, because it hurts more than a million knives stabbing to his heart at the same spot repeatedly.

"You don't have to know." Jinyoung manages to say with a forced smile. And through the rest of the night, he avoided Mark's questioning gazes and questions about his love life.

 

》》》

 

The next week, Jinyoung finds himself sitting on his usual seat -- at four in the morning -- inside BarCode, again. On the table stand five empty bottles of beer, and a half-empty bottle of rum with a shot glass filled with the liquid just beside. He's drunk, and almost out of his mind; with puffy and red eyes, and tear-stained cheeks.

When Jaebum arrived, he asked Jackson if Jinyoung's been in the place often -- turned out, Jinyoung's been going there and drinking until dawn for four days straight. Jackson felt guilty for not telling Jaebum, but he reasoned out that Jinyoung pleaded him not to tell anyone.

"Jinyoung, let's go home." Jaebum says softly, taking a seat beside his bestfriend. But Jinyoung didn't say a thing. He just keeps on staring blankly at the table on front of him. "Jinyoung, let's go." He calls out again, moving an arm to take his bestfriend's hand in his.

Jinyoung answers a few minutes later; lips quivering, and holding back the tears that are starting to form in his eyes, threatening to fall anytime. "Jae... he asked me if I have a boyfriend... t-then asked who it is..." He says. And it's only when he turns his head to look at Jaebum -- who's looking at him with genuine concern -- that he lets his tears fall, for the nth time.

Jaebum reaches out and secures his bestfriend into a comforting embrace; rubbing soothing circles on his back, and stroking the soft strands of his hair. It hurts when he sees his Jinyoung being like this; knowing that Jinyoung doesn't cry that easily, before.

He lets Jinyoung cry on his chest, and waits for him to calm down so they can talk about it.

"You're gonna kill yourself with how much you've been drinking the past few days." Jaebum says, minutes later, when his bestfriend is calm enough to listen. Jinyoung has his head rested on Jaebum's shoulder as he clings onto his arm.

"Isn't that the point why I am doing this?" He blurts out, voice hoarse.

Jaebum frowns at that. "Park Jinyoung." He says in a warning tone, and moves a hand to hit his bestfriend's head.

Jinyoung winces, then sighs in defeat. "I just can't believe that all of this is happening, Jae..." His voice trails off before he continues. "Everything was so perfect between _us_ , Jae. But now, it's like _this_. One accident, and then _pow_ \-- he suddenly doesn't remember me; doesn't remember meeting me; doesn't remember falling in love with _me_ ; yet he's so in love with the person who broke his heart years ago. And I think it's unfair that I couldn't bring myself to be mad at that person because he's really done nothing wrong to our relationship. It feels like someone just pressed the reset; and I'm meeting him, and introducing myself to him, for the first time all over again. Except, back then, it didn't hurt when I look at him."

Jaebum just listens, and the more he listen, the more he is hurting with his bestfriend.

"Six years," Jaebum mumbles. "That's a lot of time, Jinyoung. There has to be something, _anything_ that can trigger his memories and make him remember faster. There just has to be..." His voice trails off.

"I know, Jae." Jinyoung takes in a deep breath. "I just... don't know what it could be..."

Jinyoung sobered up quickly for his own liking. It was almost five when they left the place; Jaebum drove a sleeping Jinyoung back to his and Mark's apartment. It's sad to think that BarCode used to be a happy place for them and their friends back in the days. But now, it turned into Jinyoung's crying nest for the past weeks.

He planted a long kiss on his bestfriend's forehead -- after laying his sleeping figure down on the couch -- before he finally left.

 

Jinyoung wakes up minutes later. _Five-forty_ , he reads when he turns his head to look at the wall clock. A tear suddenly falls from his eyes, and so, he curls himself into a ball of sadness and lets himself cry _again_ ; lets the tears burn down their tracks on his cheeks -- as if they've always belonged there. And Jinyoung's sure they have been basing on how many times he'd cried from the past weeks. Whenever a single teardrop fell, he'd cry himself dry; and he wondered where all of those tears came from. They seemed to be unceasing, just like to the pain he'd been feeling.

Suddenly, there's a shadow that looms over him, and Jinyoung quickly wipes his tears then sits up. He brings his feet up, and goes to hug his legs as he places his chin on his knees.

"Are you okay?" Mark's voice sounds a few seconds later, moving to sit on the couch beside Jinyoung. Jinyoung turns his head to look at him with a scowl, because he obviously looks nowhere near to _okay_ right now. "Have you been drinking?"

"Why? Are you gonna scold me?" He manages to say, trying his best not to sound broken. "I'm fine." He lies.

Mark shakes his head. "Am I allowed to do that?" He asks, lifting his eyebrows. The familiarity of this conversation is making Jinyoung feel nostalgic. "And also, has anyone told you that you're terrible at lying?" Mark asks again, inching closer to Jinyoung -- who's not saying anything and is just biting his lower lip. "Don't worry, you don't have to tell me what's wrong if you really didn't want to. But I want you to know that I can be a shoulder you can cry on if ever you needed one."

With that, fresh tears fall from Jinyoung's eyes, again, and he reaches out to wrap his arms around Mark's waist as he cries on his boyfriend's chest. They didn't talk, and just stayed like that for some time. Mark's rubbing soothing circles on Jinyoung's back, as the younger continues to cry -- loud enough that it's the only sound that can be heard in the whole place; loud enough for it to jerk something to the elder's mind.

It's only when Jinyoung's nearly cried himself to sleep, that Mark leans closer to the younger's ear to speak. "Hey, Jinyoung? You told me that I should always tell you whenever I remember something new, right?" He says, but he doesn't know that Jinyoung's already slowly drifting off to sleep. "Well, I... I think I remember meeting you for the first time. We were on a rooftop, and you saved me... But it could've been also just a dream." Mark waits for the younger to respond, but he hears Jinyoung snoring softly, instead. "Oh... he fell asleep..." He mumbles to himself, carefully moving Jinyoung's head from his chest down to his lap in an attempt to make the younger sleep in a more comfortable position.

And they slept just like that -- Jinyoung's head rested on the elder's lap as Mark leaned his back against the couch; their fingers intertwined on the younger's chest. And that felt like nothing has changed at all, even though everything had.

 

》》》

 

"He still hasn't moved out of your apartment yet." Yugyeom says as he watches Jinyoung work on a cup of wintermelon tea that a customer ordered a while ago.

Jinyoung thinks that it's an attempt to make him feel better. It doesn't, but it somehow lightens his spirit a little, for some odd reason. Maybe it's because Yugyeom is his and Mark's _cute giant baby_ that they've _unofficially_ adopted three years ago.

"I hope he never does." Jinyoung says as soon as he's done, then he goes to walk towards the counter to hand the cup to the waiting customer.

"I have faith in Mark hyung. I think he isn't that dumb to know that he should stay with you; whether he remembers anything, or not."

Jinyoung suddenly feels his expression darken, and he turns to lock eyes with Yugyeom. "But he doesn't love me anymore, Gyeom. Everything isn't like how it used to be; everything has changed." He says.

But Yugyeom shakes his head. "You're wrong with the first part, Jinyoung hyung. It's just his mind that doesn't love you; that doesn't remember you," He corrects, gaze intent as he looks at Jinyoung's eyes. "The heart can feel what the mind couldn't remember, hyung. I utterly believe that you and Mark hyung are made for each other, and that his heart still remembers and loves you."

Jinyoung rolls his eyes then grabs a cup from the counter and uses it to cover Yugyeom's mouth. But he can't help it but let the smile make its way on his face, because he's hoping that Yugyeom is right. Wishing that the younger's words are true.

 

》》》

 

Two months later, Mark still hasn't recovered his memories.

It had been almost four months since the accident, yet Mark showed such little signs of remembering anything. Slowly, Jinyoung was, again, losing faith that the elder might ever recover his memories. But Jinyoung knew that he couldn't just let go of Mark. His heart would never let him; no matter how broken it is right now. After all, he'd promised himself to his other half, and he couldn't go back on his words. Because he believed that someone only fall in love this hard once in their life; and he believed that this was his one and only chance in forever and a day.

He misses _them_ , but he knows that there are certain things that hit the peak, and then the next time they didn't matter anymore.

Jinyoung found himself spending some days and nights during those two months at Jaebum and Youngjae's place. But he wasn't in tears every time he'd came to visit; simply because Jaebum pleaded him not to, and also because his bestfriend warned him that he won't be welcome anymore if he'd cried at least once. It was hard, but he'd managed to do it. He'd also spent the whole day of his birthday at the couple's place (Jaebum didn't allow him at first, but he pleaded his bestfriend until he gave up and reasoned out that Mark doesn't even remember what's on that day anyway so why bother spending it at their own apartment), and then went home on the next day -- ignoring Mark's inquiries about where he had been the day prior.

On Mark's birthday, he'd only bought him a cake as a gift. The elder invited Taehyung to their apartment. Jinyoung excused himself to go out -- saying he had to buy something -- but never returned until he was sure that Mark was already asleep.

Jinyoung had never been that big of a fan of dramatic romance movies or series -- thought he'd watch several of them before -- but he couldn't help but think that his life, right now, is somehow almost similar to a romantic tragedy. Like some kind of angst story that a teenager might cry for days before utterly forgetting about it, then moving on.

 _You'll never know how much you love someone until they're gone_ ; he'd read this quote for a million times before. And it isn't until almost four months ago, until now, that he can relate to it so much. _But Mark is still there; he's not gone_ , a part of him would tell. Yes, he is, but at the same time, he isn't. But Jinyoung still loves him the same way as he did.

The clock reads eight PM, and it's raining outsite. Jinyoung's sitting on a chair by the window in the living room, looking out at the city as the pouring rain soaks everything. The weather is cold; but somehow it doesn't feel as cold as the bed whenever Jinyoung sleeps alone.

"Do you feel cold?" Mark's voice sounds from behind him, making Jinyoung jump a bit on his place.

Jinyoung turns to look at him with a blank expression. "Isn't it obvious?"

"I just... wanna start a conversation..." Mark says, handing thick jacket to the younger, before pulling a chair for himself and takes a seat beside Jinyoung.

Jinyoung accepts the jacket and wears it, taking a breath at how warm and comfortable it feels. "Well, that's not a good conversation starter."

"I know," Mark tells him with a grin, but his voice trails off when he speaks again. "I just... wanna hear your voice..."

Jinyoung feels himself flushing at that. Rolling his eyes, he aims a kick at the elder's shin, and Mark just laughs -- though he can't help it but smile in amusement. "What now? Are you perhaps flirting with me?"

Mark shrugs, and moves his eyes to the side. "Um, maybe?" He answers, grinning again as he looks back at the younger. Jinyoung almost forgets at the moment that _this_ Mark thought he's a taken man -- but not by Jinyoung. And Jinyoung's also pretty sure that just at this moment; Mark forgets that the younger also has a boyfriend -- that is utterly unknown. "I don't know why, but I feel like it's... just so comfortable and natural to say sappy things to you." His voice sounds again.

Jinyoung snorts. "Comfortable? Natural?"

Mark nods eagerly. "Yep!" He exclaims. "I feel like... I- I think it's one of those missing pieces in this mental puzzle that I've been working on since weeks ago." He pauses, and moves a hand up to scratch the back of his head. "You're just- er... you're so oddly familiar to me, but I don't know why. My mind also reminds me of... of little things, whenever I see your face, but I really don't understand them. But I'm doing my best to put them all to pieces, you know? I think you're someone who's really important to me... it's just that I don't remember -- can't remember -- and I feel so, so bad about it. I'm really sorry, Jinyoung..."

Jinyoung didn't even realize that his tears were falling as he looked at Mark, and as he listened to his words. His tears burn down the tracks on his cheeks again, but Jinyoung's been numb enough to not to react, to not to feel anything.

"Oh my god, Jinyoung, why are you crying?" Mark gasps at the sight of the younger that is in tears. As if on instinct, he extends his arms and pulls Jinyoung into a warm and comfortable hug. "Sh, please don't cry... Did I say anything wrong?"

Jinyoung cries on Mark's chest for a while; tears soaking the fabric of the elder's shirt. "I just want you to remember _everything_ , Mark..." He whispers through sniffles and sobs; voice broken, pained, pitiful, hopeless, all at once. Jinyoung moves his head from the elder's chest to look at him in the eyes -- bringing his hands up and gently placing them on Mark's cheeks as he looks at the elder with pleading and desperate eyes. "It hurts, Mark. It hurts so much..."

There's a glint of regret on Mark's eyes as he brings his own hands up to place it over Jinyoung's hands on his own cheeks. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't remember, Jinyoung..." He says, but it didn't make Jinyoung feel any better; it still didn't take away all the pain.

Closing his eyes and wiping his tear-stained cheeks, Jinyoung pulls away from the elder then rises up from his seat. "I'm going to sleep." He murmurs, as he walks away from Mark; not looking back to the elder's eyes as he did. He just can't.

 

》》》

 

A week later, Jinyoung finds himself searching the whole apartment looking for a light blue box with a pink lid.

It was one of Mark's many gifts on their fifth anniversary, just last year. The box contained sixty sappy handwritten love letters Mark had claimed he'd written for every monthsary they've had, and also some nearly-faded polaroid pictures of _them_. When Jinyoung had asked _why_ with his eyebrows raised, the elder said that it was because they've been dating for half a decade already. He'd also told Jinyoung to only open the box two times; on the day it was gifted to him, and then again if Jinyoung misses him.

 _I made it as sappy as you could ever imagine, so that you would never open it again; and also because I would never make you miss me since I'd always be by your side_ , Mark had reasoned out.

But on a cold November night when he's on their apartment all alone, waiting for Mark to come home; Jinyoung finds himself searching for that box again. Maybe it's just his wishful thinking, or probably his mindless dreaming; but Jinyoung just wants them back. No -- he's _desperate_ to have _them_ back. He's sick and tired of being just _one of those missing pieces in the mental puzzle_ Mark had said he'd been working on. It had been more than four months, _but for how long will I have to wait more?_

It hurts, but he's just too in love to let it all go.

More than a year later, Jinyoung finds himself standing in the middle of their bedroom, with the box on his hands. His brows furrow as he wonders why it hasn't collected dust, at all, since none of them really touches it, or opens it, or even bothers to clean it. But Jinyoung just shrugs it off.

He nearly drops the box the second he opens it as his hands shake, and shivers spread throughout his body faster than he could think. Fresh tears start to fall, and he moves a hand to cover his quivering mouth as he takes in everything that he sees.

Because inside the box are two gold rings; with their names engraved on each of them.

Mark _was_ going to propose.

The thought itself hurts, and Jinyoung's mind suddenly wanders way back to the day of their sixth anniversary; and to the day of Mark's accident. _Has Mark been planning to do it for long? Was he perhaps going to do it during our vacation?_ A million and one thoughts keep popping out in his mind, one by one.

And Jinyoung, once again, hates himself.

His blood runs cold, and he closes the box as soon as possible; because every second that pass hurts more than the previous ones the longer he looks at the rings. He leaves the box on the bedside drawer, and goes to bury himself under the cold sheets of the bed -- crying himself dry until he falls asleep.

 

Unnecessary to say; all cliché stories come true when Mark emerges into the bedroom, the next morning. It's eight AM, and he wants to wake Jinyoung up from his sleep when a glimpse of the box sitting on the bedside drawer distracts him. Mark's curiosity got the better of him, and the next thing he knows, he's walking towards where the box is. Oddly enough, the box is so familiar to him, and he couldn't help it but let his curious hand pull open the lid.

The first thing he sees are the rings with his and Jinyoung's names engraved on each one.

He turns to his side to look at Jinyoung -- and luckily, the younger showed no signs of waking up -- before he picks up both of the gold rings to have a closer look. And the more he looks at them, the more confused his mind gets.

He places the rings to the space beside the box a few seconds later, and then goes to look through the sappy love letters and nearly-fades pictures. The penmanship on each letter is obviously his, but the pictures of him and Jinyoung being _intimate_ to each other trigger more confusion in his mind. There are photos of him and Jinyoung _kissing_ ; them, holding hands; him riding on Jinyoung's back; Jinyoung smiling with crinkles forming on the corners of his eyes; and more. Mark furrows his brows as his head begins to hurt.

Some dates written on the letters are way back to the year he thinks he'd still been dating Taehyung. But the messages tell him that Jinyoung is his one and only; his _other half_. Without a doubt, it was him who wrote each word in the letters. It was his own penmanship, and how he would exactly construct his sentences.

Mark brings his hands up to rub his temples as his headache begins to worsen. _I don't understand any of this..._

When Jinyoung shifts his position on the bed, Mark jumps on his spot, then he quickly returns everything into the box and puts back the lid before leaving the room. He cancels his initial plan of having breakfast with Jinyoung, and eats alone instead -- with an aching head, and a mind full of thoughts he couldn't understand.

 

The two of them avoided each other's gazes for the rest of the week; and neither of them had the courage to even say a word to the latter.

 

》》》

 

One week and two days later; Jinyoung's inside the kitchen cooking something to eat for dinner, when Mark's voice suddenly calls his name.

"Jinyoung?" The elder says, and there's something in his voice that Jinyoung can't quite comprehend.

He jumps on his spot at that, and almost drops the spoon he's holding. He takes in a deep breath before he replies, "In the kitchen..." And the next thing Jinyoung hears are Mark's quick footsteps as the elder makes his way to the kitchen.

When Mark emerges into the kitchen, he feels like his body is moving on its own will; and everything that he does next feels so natural to him. Slowly, he walks towards Jinyoung -- who's currently stirring on the pot of food he's cooking -- then leans in closer and presses his front against the younger's back; arms wrapping around Jinyoung's waist as he places his chin on his shoulder.

Jinyoung can practically hear his heartbeat in his ears at the elder's sudden gesture. Taking in a deep breath, he turns to his head slightly to the side and asks, "W-what's wrong, Mark? Your _date_ with Taehyung didn't go well?"

"No, not that..." The elder shakes his head. "I just... I just miss you, Jinyoung..." His voice trails off, then he moves his head to bury it on the younger's nape.

Jinyoung feels his heart skip a beat at that, but he does his best to remain calm. "You seem so down. Do you want to talk about it?"

Mark nods. "Let's have a drink too, please."

Jinyoung frowns, and moves a hand to turn off the stove. Then he turns around to lock eyes with Mark. "O... kay...? Now you're obliged to tell me what's wrong with you. You're acting strange..."

"I'll tell you when I'm drunk enough," The elder sighs. "Watever?"

 

They drive to Watever KTV Bar after eating their dinner; and true to his words, Mark does tell him everything he'd wanted to say after five shots of rhum and three shots of tequila. Jinyoung, on the other hand, isn't exactly that sober to remember anything the elder just told him -- but at the same time, not that drunk to know what he's doing at the moment. Though he's utterly aware that they'd both be suffering hangovers tomorrow when they wake up.

It's now thirty minutes past midnight, and Jinyoung's pressing numbers on the remote of the karaoke inside their cubicle; pressing the play button afterwards. But as soon as the song starts playing and Jinyoung starts singing; Mark furrows his brows at the familiarity of it.

_This is my love song to you_

_Let every woman know I’m yours_

_So you can fall asleep each night, babe_

_And know I’m dreaming of you more_

When Jinyoung sings the first verse, his voice sounds gruff, but his own eyes are full of emotions as he locks them with Mark's. And even though he sounded drunk and almost out of tune, Mark still thinks that the younger's voice sounds so _beautiful_ to his ears.

_You’re always hoping that we make it_

_You always want to keep my gaze_

_Well_ _,_ _you’re the only one I see_

_And that’s the one thing that won’t change_

Jinyoung continues with the second verse in the same manner, his eyes never intending to leave Mark's -- and the elder's looking at him in both bewilderment and confusion, with a little bit of nostalgia.

When the chorus comes, Jinyoung starts walking, slowly, towards Mark until he's practically standing right in front of the elder as he sings with his heart.

_I will never stop trying_

_I will never stop watching as you leave_

_I will never stop losing my breath,_

_every time I see you looking back at me_

_And I will never stop holding your hand_

_I will never stop opening your door_

_I will never stop choosing you, babe_

_I will never get used to you_

Mark can almost feel all the emotions on Jinyoung's voice as he sings the chorus. It's as if he meant every word he's singing; and every line is directed only towards the elder.

When the first chorus ends -- and the instrumental before the next verse starts playing -- the first thing that Mark sees are fresh tears falling down the younger's cheeks.

Jinyoung suddenly places the microphone on the table in front, and moves down to straddle on Mark's lap. Wrapping his arms around the elder's neck, he buries his head on Mark's chest and starts crying audibly. Mark lets him; just like what he did on the first time he saw the younger cry. And he also keeps rubbing soothing circles on Jinyoung's back as he waits for the younger to stop crying and calm down.

Minutes later, Jinyoung's cries come to a halt, and he lifts his head up to look at Mark's face -- their faces are so close to one another that he could feel the younger's breath practically fanning across his lips. Jinyoung reeks of alcohol, but they both do; so he didn't care.

Mark may not be quite in his right mind at the moment, but he knows he'll remember _this_ tomorrow morning.

Their stay like that for some time; their eyes locked, and breaths fanning each other's faces. It feels strange for Mark, but it also feels right; so, so right.

Then he remembers the box; the rings, the letters, the pictures of them together -- so he goes to open his mouth to speak and he was just about to ask a series of questions when Jinyoung starts to speak first.

"Mark." Jinyoung whispers and Mark feels like there's something in the way the younger said his name. Maybe it's because he's drunk and probably just assuming things, but he'd always felt that. Whenever Jinyoung say his name, there's always something like _affection_ in it -- even when he's crying.

All Mark manages to reply is a hum.

"Mark, I'm sorry..." Jinyoung whispers again, feeding more confusion to the elder's mind. Mark furrows his eyebrows at that, and his arms around Jinyoung's waist tighten. "I'm sorry that I got sick on that day. I'm sorry that I didn't go with you, and you'd have to leave alone. I'm sorry I made you worry so much for me. Do you know how much I regret that day? I wish it never came. But it's all my fault that you're like this. It's my entire fault that you forgot about me. Do you know how much it _hurts_ waking up everyday knowing that your other half doesn't remember who you are? I just want everything back to the way it was before, Mark... I just want you back..."

Mark didn't say anything, and just listened. But, as if on instinct, he moves a hand up to wipe the tears the moment they fell on Jinyoung's cheeks and whispers affectionate words of assurance that everything will be better soon. Everything he does to Jinyoung feels so natural, but he's not sure why.

"Listen to me-" A sob makes Jinyoung pause, and he swallows the lump in his throat before he speaks again. "I want you back, Mark Tuan. I want _us_ back. And I _need_ you like I needed air to breathe. I'm so sorry if I fucked up, so bad, when all you did to me was to treat me as if I meant _everything_ to you. If only I could go back in time and fix everything, then I would... I- I'd be willing to do _anything_ just to have you back, because _I love you_. I love you so, so much, Mark... I love you more than anything else in this world, and- it just... it _hurts_ so fucking much that you couldn't remember me, but you remember _him_ instead. It hurts, but I still love you all the same... So, please, come back to me... I just want you back to me..."

"Jinyoung... you... you love me..." Mark repeats; his own voice barely audible as he continues to speak. "I'm... I'm so sorry that I can't remember you..."

But Jinyoung hears him; and he shakes his head. "Yes, I do. And no, you don't have to apologize, Mark... You're drunk, too, so there's no way you can remember anything that I've said tomorrow when you wake up. But still, I _hope_ that you'll remember." Jinyoung murmurs. "Not just the things that happened tonight; but _everything_. About me. About _us_..." He says one last time, voice trailing off.

And Mark doesn't even resist the urge to lean closer, and seal their lips together in a kiss. He didn't know why he did it, but it felt so right.

They continue to kiss; long and sweet and passionate. Mark's arms are still wrapped tightly around the younger's waist; and Jinyoung has one hand on Mark's face whilst the other is on his shoulder. They tilt their heads from side to side, but didn't battle for dominance -- they just want to _feel_ each other.

It's only when they feel the need to breathe that they pull away from each other. Jinyoung presses their foreheads together, leaning forward to plant one last kiss on Mark's lips before closing his eyes.

And Jinyoung's rational self hates him for letting his guard down, this time. But drunken Jinyoung doesn't really care that much, even though he knows all too well that everything is going to break him to pieces, _again_. But, Jinyoung will always play the fool for Mark, if he has to -- because after all this time, as absurd as it sounds, he's still so deeply _in love_.

 

》》》

 

Mark remembered everything that happened last night when he woke up in the morning; his head still throbbing, and lips still tingling from the kiss he and Jinyoung shared the night prior. Everything he did with the younger seemed so familiar to him; yet his mind served him nothing. But, he also remembered that he needed to tell Taehyung. For the reason that he couldn't bare keeping everything that happened between him and Jinyoung as a secret to his _boyfriend_.

It was three PM when he arrived at Taehyung's place, without a warning.

Taehyung practically jumps off his skin the moment he opens the door and Mark pulls him into a tight hug. Thankfully, his boyfriend, Yoongi, is at work; or else Mark is dead meat.

"Mark, w-what are you doing?" Taehyung stutters as he pulls away from the elder's embrace.

The sight of Taehyung pulling away from him feels oddly familiar to him. And, suddenly, there are hundreds and thousands of images flashing through his mind -- like a flickering slideshow of all times he'd felt _rejected_ \-- but at the end, it brought him to the day when it was Taehyung that made him feel this way.

Mark is more than confused at the moment, but he still continues; because a small part of him tells him so. "I kissed Jinyoung last night... I'm so sorry, Taehyung," He says, reaching out to grasp on the younger's shoulders. "I was drunk... And I know this won't make things better between us, but I just wanna be honest with you..."

Taehyung wriggles his way out of the elder's grasp, and slowly takes some steps back. "Mark, it's okay... You don't have to apologize to me..."

More confusion comes flooding into his mind at the sight of Taehyung stepping back away from him. And Mark suddenly feels scared, and lost, and everything all at once. But, his body seems to move on its own accord as he pulls the younger man, again, into a hug.

"No, Taehyung. It's not okay!" Mark almost shouts. "It's not okay to kiss another man behind your back, and I'm sorry. Please, don't leave me. Don't walk away from me."

Taehyung's stuttering when he speaks as he struggles to get out of Mark's tight embrace. "It's r-really fine, Mark... so please let go of me. Y-you're hurting me."

"No, I won't let go! Don't leave me, Taehyung. Please..." Mark keeps holding onto Taehyung tightly, whilst the younger's struggling as he tries to pull himself away.

Things escalated quickly; and the last thing that Mark remembered before everything around him turned black was the sight of Taehyung pushing him -- his own head hitting roughly against the door, and a sharp pain shooting the back of his head.

Then nothing.

 

》》》

 

Jinyoung's grief came flooding back in his insides the second he received a call from Jaebum that Mark is in the hospital.

His head was still pounding from the hangover that didn't seem to leave his systems, as he walked down the halls of the hospital towards where Mark's room is. To his surprise, Taehyung was sitting on the bench with his boyfriend, outside the room. When the younger noticed his prescence, the first thing that he did was to practically jump on Jinyoung as he buried his face on the elder man's chest to cry.

"Jinyoung, I'm so sorry." Taehyung says with tears falling down his cheeks when he lifts his head up to look at him.

Jinyoung shakes his head, and brings his hands up to wipe the younger's tears. "Sh, it's okay, Taehyung. Please don't cry." He whispers, but he's also about to cry himself.

Taehyung told him everything, when the younger man was calm enough to speak coherently. And Jinyoung couldn't hide his relief when he knew that that what happened to Mark wasn't so serious.

It's only when Jinyoung enters the room that he lets himself cry.

This scene seems so familiar to him, and just like before; the hospital room is cold, but the tears that are flowing down his cheeks are warm as he takes in the sight of his motionless lover on the bed. And Jinyoung, again, was left wondering; _when will Mark wake up?_

 

But one week later; Mark still showed no signs of waking up.

According to the doctor, which is Dr. Im, again; Mark's mind must have been stressed out before he'd fallen asleep when the back of his head received a blow -- because it's strange that he hasn't woken up yet for this long if the only cause of his slumber was his head hitting on a door. It was even longer than the time Mark had an accident. Jinyoung's hopes returned to watching the heart monitor beside Mark's bed. He couldn't cry anymore; and his heart stayed numb as he watched and waited for any sign of life from his other half.

Winter season has already started, and the milktea shop isn't that popular during this time of the year; so they'd always change their menu, and start serving coffees and other warm beverages.

Between his long hours of work, Jinyoung still prioritized Mark over anything else. Being a part-time teacher by day, and running a milktea shop by afternoon; his hands were always tired by the end of the day -- but never too tired to stroke on the soft locks of Mark's hair, or to hold on the elder's cold hands.

Jinyoung never missed a single day of visiting his other half; and every single free time in his waking life was spent being by the elder's side. Winter nights found Jinyoung falling asleep next to Mark until he was told to go home (because they didn't allow him, this time, no matter how he begged) -- and mornings demanded him to go to work. Yugyeom had also completely taken over Jinyoung's spot on the counter, for the reason that he didn't want to see a _hobo_ serving drinks to the customers. It lightened up his mood a little; but only for a while.

For a whole week, every single day of Jinyoung's life became a constant and tiresome and languid pattern.

 

》》》

 

Another week later; Mark finally wakes up. It took him a total of two weeks for him to finally awaken from the deep slumber he was in.

All his memories came rushing into his head -- starting from the day of his and Jinyoung's anniversary, to the day of his accident, and to the day Taehyung pushed him and he hit his head on the door. He remembers the rings he'd bought so he could finally propose to his beloved Jinyoung. He remembers Jinyoung's crying face; his pleading and desperate voice; _everything_. It was an overwhelming sensation, and Mark has to close his eyes to comprehend each moment and word that are flashing in his mind at the speed of light.

The sun is shining brightly outside, as the lights passes through the large window of the hospital room; illuminating everything in sight. It's barely ten in the morning when Mark looks up at the clock.

A glimpse of black hair catches his attention, and when he turns his head to the side, there's a man lying down on the couch. But it's not Jinyoung. _He's probably at work_ , Mark thinks as he sits up.

"Jaebum?" He calls out.

Surprised, Jaebum immediately sits up and looks at him with wide eyes. "Mark, you're finally awake."

"Where's Jinyoung?" He asks, stumbling his way off the hospital bed.

Jaebum practically sprints his way to the elder man, helping him stand up straightly. "Have your memories returned?"

Mark nods. "I need to see him. Where is he?"

"He's at work," Jaebum informs. "But you're not allowed to leave yet. Wait here; I'll call my dad to check you up first." He says one last time, ushering Mark to sit back on the bed before leaving the room.

Jaebum returns minutes later, with a doctor to do some checkups -- the usual process on a patient who has just woken up from a short-term coma. Mark just sits there, patiently waiting for the doctor to finish what hes doing.

"Everything seems fine to me." The doctor says when he's done, giving Mark's shoulder a pat before finally leaving the room.

Jaebum then takes a seat beside him.

"Jae, can I leave yet?" He asks, looking at the man beside him with pleading eyes.

"Yep, you can. But we'll have to call your emergency contact, first." Jaebum informs with a wiggle of his brows.

"Jinyoung? Can I call him?" He says, then goes to search around the room to look for his phone. "Where's my phone?"

"You didn't bring your phone when you went to Taehyung's place."

Mark frowns as he grows a little impatient. He wants to see Jinyoung -- no, he _needs_ to see his boyfriend, right now. Or at least hear his voice.

"Can you call him, Jae? Please." He pleads, looking at the other man with puppy eyes.

Jaebum rolls his eyes at that, and moves a hand up to covers Mark's small face with it. He fetches his phone from his pocket then dials Jinyoung's number.

Seven calls; but all of them were directed to voice mail. Mark's starting to worry. Jaebum gives up after the eighth call, and goes to dial a different number instead.

"Yes, daddy?" The voice says from the other line. It's Youngjae. And Mark bites his lips to stifle a laugh at how red Jaebum's face has become.

"B-babe, hello. Um, is Jinyoung there?" He stutters.

"He's probably still teaching for his last class this morning. Why?"

Jaebum looks up at Mark before answering, lifting his eyebrows in question. The elder man only nods. "Can you please tell him that Mark's waiting on the place where they first met?"

 

When Mark rushes out of the hospital, minutes later, the frigid winter air bites at his skin. His body shivers, and he regrets not borrowing a thicker jacket from Jaebum. It's too cold to be outside with such a thin jacket, but Mark only had his mind set on finally seeing Jinyoung. He then hails a cab, and tells the driver his destination.

To the place where he first met Jinyoung; to the place where _they_ started.

 

》》》

 

"Jinyoung!" Youngjae exclaims the second he takes a step into the office.

Startled, Jinyoung practically jumps off his skin, before turning his head to look at the overly-excited _otter_ skipping on the way towards him. "Yes...?"

"Oh my god, Jinyoung, you won't believe this!" He says, voice way too loud for Jinyiung's liking -- and it's barely noon. "Jaebum called me a while ago to tell you that Mark has finally waken up!"

Jinyoung's eyes widened at the sudden information; his mouth agape as he looks back at his co-teacher. He can feel his heart practically pounding against his chest, and tears are starting to form in his eyes. His mind is whirring, and he's speechless at the overehelming emotions he's currently feeling.

It takes him a few minutes to speak again. "Where is he?" He asks, voice quiet.

"Jaebum told me that Mark is waiting on the place where you first met."

And without saying a word, Jinyoung rushes on his way out of the office -- hardly even pulling his jacket onto himself properly. His footsteps are heavy as he makes his way down the pavement of the street. The cold winter wind brushes through his hair and kisses his cheeks a pink colour.

 _Mark is waiting on the place where you first met_ , Youngjae's voice echoes in his mind as he runs. And he knows exactly where that place is; and he's glad that it's only minutes away from the school where he's working at.

 

》》》

 

Jinyoung is twenty-six when he finds a brown-haired boy standing by the edge on the rooftop of the university's tallest building, on a cold afternoon in December. When he steps out of the door of the rooftop with heavy breaths (since he hasn't even realized that he was running that quickly), Mark's silhouette immediately came into view.

Slowly, he steps forward.

His heart beats faster with every step he makes, and every breath he takes. And the next thing he knows; he's crying. Fresh tears fall from his face, but this time, it's from the relief and happiness he's currently feeling.

Jinyoung suddenly feels nostalgic at how familiar this scene is to him; except that Mark isn't going to jump off, and he's the one who's crying. When Mark turns around, his arms are wide open, and Jinyoung practically jumps onto him as he steps into his open arms for a warm embrace; holding onto him tightly as if his life depended on Mark.

"I'm so sorry, Jinyoung..." Mark whispers onto his hair, his hand making soothing circles on the younger's back as he pulls him even closer (if possible). And there’s nothing Jinyoung loved more than feeling of safety that he feels in the arms of his other half. In the arms of Mark.

"I hate you," Jinyoung says onto his chest through sniffles and gasps of air. "I hate you." He repeats; and keeps on repeating until he's hitting on the elder's chest every time those three words pass through his mouth.

Mark lets him. He knows he deserved it; but he also knows that Jinyoung meant to say the opposite of those three words. "I love you too, more than anything else in this world, babe." He says, gently placing his hands on the younger's cheeks to make him look up. "Please tell me you don't hate me too much that you wouldn't want to marry me, my Prince."

Jinyoung hates the fact that Mark could make jokes in times like this -- but he knows he loves him for the same reasons. "I could never," He says with teary eyes, hitting the elder's chest one last time. "I love you so much, Mark. And I'm so sorry for-"

"Sh, don't say sorry, please." Mark shushes him, shaking his head. He wipes on Jinyoung's tear-stained cheeks with his thimb -- his eyes never leaving the the younger's gaze. "It's not your fault, so please stop blaming yourself."

Jinyoung only nods; then, he leans forward to press his lips against Mark’s before the elder could even say another word. And it feels like his entire world is _complete_ again.

They cotinue to kiss; both of them just as desperate and wanting, but at the same time the kiss was gentle and sweet. And they only pull away from each other when they feel the need to breathe. Jinyoung presses their foreheads together with his eyes closed; and they stay like that for some time with their warm breaths fanning across each other's faces, reveling in the moment where everything is back to the way it used to again.

It's Mark who speaks first, few minutes later, breaking the comfortable silence between them. "You know what, Jinyoungie? There might be a best thing that happened during the time that I have an amnesia. Well, at least for me." He chuckles.

Jinyoung looks at him with eyebrows raised. "What is it?"

"It's that I got to fall in love with you, all over again, for the second time around." He says with a cheeky grin.

Jinyoung rolls his eyes, but he can't help the smile that's making its way on his face. "Sappy, aren't we?"

Mark grins wider, and leans in forward to press his lips against Jinyoung's. "You love it."

"Oh come here you-" Then Jinyoung pulls Mark again for a kiss -- his arms wrapped tightly around the elder.

 

People say love conquers all -- Jinyoung finally proved it does. But he'd proven it on the hardest way that he could ever imagine. Almost losing Mark made him realize that all things in the world are, indeed, temporary. But, after everything, he realized that if ever something like that happens again, he’d always try to make them work again; he'd always try to win his other half back; he'd always try to turn everything back the way it was before -- even if it's a million times all over. He’d never give up on _them_ , ever.

No matter how absurd and unrealistic it sounds; if you love someone that deeply, then there's nothing that could really tear you away from them. Jinyoung thinks that, maybe, Yugyeom's words are true.

That he and Mark are, indeed, _made for each other_.


End file.
